Dissidia: War of the Digital Gods
by mr.myxsiple
Summary: 2 gods. 24 warriors. 12 crystals. 1 destiny. Pls review.
1. Prologus

**I DON'T OWN DIGIMON NOR DISSIDIA**

* * *

><p>PROLOGUE<p>

The Digital World...so peaceful...so quiet. The Digimon, the sentient beings that have called this place their home, live almost human-like lives. This world and it's inhabitants was so beautiful...so beautiful indeed.

But this world hadn't known peace for a long times.

For ages, those who held evil in their hearts saw this world as something they could rule with an iron fist. These evil beings would stop at nothing until they were the supreme rulers of this world. With their ruthless and cruel methods of control, who knows how many lives were lost because of them...

Yet, whenever evil did try to take over, a beacon of hope shined. This beacon took the form of humans, more specifically, children who come from the human world and, working side by side with Digimon, they vanquish the evil from the world. With their mission done, they return home thinking that they were heroes.

But are they as good as some might think they are? Are they truly heroes for that matter?

To kill another, to end someone's life, is an unpardonable sin. Every living creature, good or evil, deserves the right to live the way they chose. The humans who claim to be the saviors of the world can be thought of differently. Even with the intention of restoring peace, their taking of the lives of those who are guilty is not as good as taking the lives of the innocent.

They are no better than those who desire nothing but destruction and oppression. Both sides, have committed sins towards life itself; all life should be valued. Death doesn't answer anything. These humans are no heroes; they too bring death.

Whenever a new evil arises, the human children are always there to put an end to that evil. Death would occur and after that evil is defeated, another rises and more children are summoned to combat it. Fighting and killing, fighting and killing, fighting and killing...

It was endless...An eternal cycle of death and destruction...

There was one being in the Digital World that hates this cycle the most.

His name is Fanglongmon, the closest thing to a god the Digital World has. A majestic brown dragon with eight eyes and numerous spheres on his back, he is the ruler of the Digital World. Soaring above the clouds far from anyone's sight, he swoops downwards to a certain location.

This location is called Primary Village, where Digimon go to be reborn. Hiding from prying eyes, he watches each and every egg which contained a baby Digimon.

"How many of these Digimon were killed despite their innocence?" he thinks to himself. With bitterness in his heart, he departs and goes to another location, a place called the Dark Area.

It is the closest thing there was to hell in the Digital World. Everywhere he looks, Fanglongmon sees evil Digimon screaming in pain as punishment for their actions. Despite what they did, he pities them.

"None of you deserve this torture." he thinks to himself again. "I wish for this realm to cease to exist." But nothing happened, he couldn't rid the world of this place where screams of agony and torture are all that can be heard. Angrier than ever, he leaves the Dark Area.

He ends up in his home, another dimension where he can watch the Digital World without notice. It was a strange realm with no walls nor ceiling; whatever floor there was, it was covered by a thick golden smoke.

Fanglongmon wants to rest, but he couldn't. He thinks of all those innocent Digimon he saw in Primary Village, Digimon who lost their lives to the wicked ones. He could almost hear the screams of agony of the Digimon sent into the Dark Area, Digimon sent there by the Digidestined, the so-called heroes of the world. He hated both sides in a way he never did before. In fury, he balls up his fist and smashes it onto the "floor". Had he done that on the Digital World, he would've split it in half.

"Is something troubling you Master." a voice says. Looking up. Fanglongmon sees his servants the Sovereigns-Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon.

"What is all this commotion about?" another voice says. With a flash of light, the three Celestial Digimon, Cherubimon, Ophanimon and Seraphimon appear.

"My friend, what is distressing you?" a third voice says. A being almost as powerful as Fanglongmon appeared, his close friend King Drasil.

Now with company, Fanglongmon surveys them before speaking. "Life, no matter how guilty or innocent, is sacred. Do you not agree?"

Those around him look at each other surprised that he would ask such a question. "Yes we do Master but why do you ask?" Azulongmon asks.

"I have seen the lives of the innocent taken by the guilty. I have heard the torment of the guilty brought to them by those who called themselves the innocent." Fanglongmon said bitterly. "Lives need not be lost nor be tortured for eternity." he concludes.

"M-Master?" Cherubimon begins.

"Cherubimon, the fact that you are my servant is what saved you when you were destroyed." Fanglongmon tells him. "Had you not been, your destruction at the hands of those children would have sent you into the Dark Area where you will be tortured for all eternity. Knowing this, do you not hold anything against them?"

Cherubimon can't believe what his master just asked him. "Master, I hold nothing against them. In fact, I thank them for helping me return to my senses. They saved me."

"Saved you?" Fanglongmon asks. "You think of them as heroes? What heroes resort to death when they deem someone as evil? Life is sacred, even yours when you were evil. You did not deserve death at their hands."

Angry, he turns to another one of his servants. "Azulongmon, you gave one of your own DigiCores to the Digidestined-"

"I did so to give them strength to fight!" the latter says.

"You gave them power to destroy! You only furthered their destructive nature!" Fanglongmon roars.

"With all due respect Fanglongmon, I must ask you: what would you do to the wicked Digimon?" King Drasil asks.

Fanglongmon seems to calm down a bit before answering. "I will not condemn them to a life of never ending pain. I would purify their memories, purging anything that might lead them to evil. Not only will they live, but they will be born anew."

"The Digidestined...these wicked beings...they have created an endless cycle of destruction which took many lives and nearly destroyed the Digital World." Fanglongmon says. "They all deserve punishment."

"M-Master!" Ophanimon cries out in shock. The other can't believe believe it either.

Fanglongmon's eyes and DigiCores start to glow brightly. Two spheres appear in front of him. The first one was white and slowly took a new form. Though it was a Digimon, it had the appearance of a beautiful woman with long blond hair, snow white skin and a long white dress, a perfect appearance for a being that embodies peace.

But the second sphere was black in color. The shape it takes isn't anything human at all; it was a demonic fiend with red horns, black wings, four arms, sharp teeth, a loincloth with a skull on it and faces on its knees. This was a being of pure destruction.

"I will punish them all, Digidestined, wicked Digimon, but I will not kill them." Fanglongmon says to his shocked servants. "For creating an endless loop of destruction, I will punish them the same way. I will take them all, even those being tormented in the Dark Area, and, with these two deities leading them, I will lock them in an eternal cycle of conflict."

"Master!" a horrified Seraphimon cries out.

"They will know nothing but destruction for all eternity." Fanglongmon continues. "For the preservation of the Digital World and for the lives that might be lost in future conflicts, this must be done."

"There must be another way!" King Drasil cries out.

Fanglongmon doesn't reply, and the two deities he created vanished. "It has been decided; nothing will make me think otherwise."

"M...Master..."

Fanglongmon looks at their shocked faces; maybe they would come to understand in the future, but for now, they have to live with what their master did. Fanglongmon looks up with a look of triumph on his face, as if he had just done a great thing. And this great thing:

"I have ended the cycle of conflict."


	2. Calm Before the Storm

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Harmoniamon, Digital Goddess of peace...

Bedlamon, Digital God of chaos...

Two divine beings, locked in a conflict that has lasted for countless years. Time and time again, the two gods have fought for superiority with neither one showing any signs of surrendering. The Digital World has been torn asunder by the constant battles that were waged across it. Should this continue, it will be reduced to naught but a desolated, lifeless ruin.

The war between the forces of order and destruction is nearing its conclusion. Two groups of warriors from each side are all that remain. And when they clash, the fate of the Digital World will be determined.

Who will reign supreme at the end of the conflict? Will it be the champions of peace or the heralds of destruction?

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><p>The setting was Order's Sanctuary; a lone Monitamon had just gone back from a patrol and was making his way back. He eventually came across a girl with brown, worn up hair and purple eyes. She wore a pink and white jacket over a pink sleeveless top and a short, frilly skirt. The Monitamon saluted to her and said: "Lady Nene, I've returned from my patrol."<p>

Nene closed her eyes and nodded. "What did you find?" she asked.

"There isn't anyone else besides us here. I searched other areas and didn't find anyone else."

Nene looked into the horizon wondering if they were truly alone. "Well Nene? What's going on?" a female voice said behind her

Turning around, Nene answered the girl. She had brown hair and eyes and wore a pink and white shirt, yellow shorts and pink gloves. Beside her was a white cat with blue eyes, yellow gloves and a tail ring.

"Nothing Kari. We're the only ones here." Nene answered.

"I still don't like it. It's just way too quiet." the cat said, her eyes determined.

"Well we really can't do anything about it Gatomon." Kari told her partner before turning to Nene. "Let's go back and tell the others."

Nene nodded, and together, they walked towards the white throne at the center of the area. As they did, they passed by two guys talking. One had brown hair, a blue jacket over a white shirt, grey shorts, yellow wristbands and a pair of goggles. The othey guy also wore goggles but had dark brown hair. He wore a red and blue shirt with an emblem at the upper right part, grey pants and white gloves.

"You don't remember going here too Takato?" one of them asked.

Takato rubbed his head. "I don't Taiki. I'm starting to think that maybe this's all a dream."

"A dream huh?" Taiki asked.

"Yeah. I mean, what if all this isn't real?"

"Well I'm pretty real." Taiki pointed out. He pinched himself and gave a grunt of pain. "See? I don't think this's a dream at all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Takato said smiling nervously.

"Hey Taiki, you sure you haven't got anything on you?" a Digimon asked. He was red all over except for his white belly. His joints seemed to be held together by screws.

"What's up Shoutmon?" Taiki asked.

Shoutmon jabed his thumb behind him. "Guilmon here won't shut up about his stomach."

He was pointing at a red dinosaur who, like him, had a white belly, but he had a few hazard symbols on him. "But I'm hungry." Guilmon complained. "Don't you have any food Takatomon?"

"Sorry buddy. Haven't got anything." Takato answered pulling out his pockets which contained nothing but a few cards.

"But I'm so hungry." Guilmon whined. The three of them just laughed.

"Tch, what is this place? Goggle-heads United?" a girl leaning on a white post topped with a crescent moon said. She had red hair tied in a way that resembles a pineapple, a white shirt with blue sleaves and a dark blue heart, blue pants, brown wristbands and a belt.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves Rika." a tall yellow fox with purple gloves said materializing next to her.

"I'm just surprised Taiki can tolerate him Renamon." Rika replied.

Renamon eyed Takato and Taiki. "They are very alike. No wonder they get along so well."

Rika didn't change her attitude and just turned away from them. She heard a loud: "Wheeeeeee!" and looked up. Sliding down one of the two green arcs around Order's Sanctuary were two kids and their Digimon. The first was a girl with brown hair tied into two pigtails, a pink shirt and a blue dress accompanied by a large pink bird. Right behind them was a boy with dark blue hair, light blue lines near his eyes, a yellow sleeveless shirt, a necklace with three feathers, a belt with a boomerang at the back, orange shorts and sandals. The Digimon behind him looked like a large, black owl dressed up like a ninja.

The four of them had just reached the end of the arc. "C'mon, let's go again!" the girl said happily.

"No Kristy. I'm tired already." the boys said panting.

"Aw, you're no fun Keenan." Kristy said pouting. "C'mon, Biyomon, let's slide."

"But I'm also-" Biyomon began but never finished. "Falcomon, help-" But he and Kristy started sliding across the arc for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"She's really excited about that." a girl said walking up to Keenan. She had pink hair, a red and blue shirt with a star on it, a white skirt and long, white boots. Beside her was a Digimon that looked like a walking flower.

"I couldn't count anymore how many times we slid across this place Mimi." Falcomon said.

Mimi eyed the arc. "Well it does look like fun; what do you say Palmon?" she asked her partner.

"Yeah it does." Palmon agreed. Before anything else, Kristy slid all the way back to them. She then pulled out a pink and red Data-Link Digivice and started fiddling around with it.

"Kristy, you just got that; you should be more careful about it." Biyomon told her.

"But I've never had one before. I just wanna play around with it for bit." Biyomon sighed in defeat.

There was one person who, like Rika, was alone while the others were talking. Strolling around Order's Sanctuary, he had black hair, a red shirt under an open green jacket, grey pants and green and yellow shoes.

Nearby, a girl was watching him with concern on her face. She had long, blonde hair, a pink hat, a blue and white striped shirt under a pink jacket. and a pink skirt. "Hey, Zoe, what's up with Koichi?" someone asked.

The speaker was a brown-haired boy with goggles, a jacket with a flame design over a beige shirt, yellow gloves and brown shorts. Beside him was his partner, a blue dragon-like Digimon with a white belly and a yellow V on his forehead.

"It looks like he's got a lot on his mind." the Digimon said eyeing Koichi.

"He's been like that ever since he got here Davis." Zoe said.

"Have you tried asking him?" Davis asked.

"I tried to, but he kept avoiding me." Zoe shook her head. "I just don't know what to do guys."

"Hey Veemon, why don't you try talking to Koichi?" Davis suggested.

"Yeah, I'll give it a shot." Veemon said. Leaving the two of them he approached Koichi. "Uh...hey Koichi."

He looked at his blue companion. "Hi Veemon." he answered.

"They seem to be doing alright." Zoe said. After a while, Veemon returned to them. "Well?"

"I tried, but he won't tell me what's wrong." This just made Zoe wonder even more what's wrong with her friend.

"Hey Davis, Kari and Nene are back." Veemon said. Davis turned around and saw the them approaching the throne in the area.

Near the throne looking up at the sky was a boy with brown hair, a white and green school uniform, brown pants and blue and white shoes. Next to him was an orange, bipedal lizard who spotted Kari and Nene approaching.

"Hey Tai, Kari and Nene are back." he told his partner.

Tai looked down and saw them. "Gather everyone around Agumon." Tai said. Agumon nodded and left.

Soon, everyone was gathered around in a circle near the throne. Tai crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground. "So...what do we know?"

"Nothing." Rika answered. "We're all in the dark here."

"Not really. What we do know is that all of us were brought here for some unknown reason." Koichi pointed out.

"But we're definitely in the Digital World right?" Falcomon asked.

"We have to be. I mean, where else could we be?" Davis asked in turn.

Tai thought about it for a while. "The way I see it, we've got two options. We can either stay here and wait for something to happen, or we could go around and look for a way home. All in favor of the first?"

Before anyone could vote, a powerful sensation enveloped the area. The Digimon reacted to this and turned to the horizon, their appearances feral.

"What's going on?" Tai asked his partner.

"Something's heading this way Tai." Agumon said.

"What kind of something?" Taiki asked.

"Something bad...Something really really bad!" Shoutmon cried out summoning his mic and gripping it tightly. Everyone else just stood there wondering what was coming their way.

Several hundred feet away, the ground exploded, and the Digidestined took a few steps back. A large crack appeared, and magma spewed from it. Feeling the heat all the way from where they were, the Digidestined saw figures rise from th magma. With shock on their faces, those figures became recognizable.

The first was Piedmon, leader of the Dark Masters. With a look of triumph, he gazed at Tai who glared back angrily. Next to him cracking his knuckles, was MetalEtemon. Mimi eyed him with disgust.

MaloMyotismon showed up next and gave Davis and Veemon a death glare. Meanwhile, Kari covered her mouth in shock and stepped back as she recieved a gaze from Dragomon, lord of the Dark Ocean. Gatomon raised her arm in an attempt to shield Kari.

The hater of life, Mephistomon, was next to show up. Chuckling in amusement, he gazed at Takato and Guilmon. Rika was busy eyeing the Digimon next to Mephistomon, the manipulator Parasimon, with determination.

Like Kari, Koichi stepped back as he saw the corrupted Spirit of Darkness, Duskmon. Zoe looked at him worriedly before turning to her own opponent, the Demon Lord of Pride, Lucemon.

Akihiro Kurata, fused with the Demon Lord of Sloth Belphemon, appeared along with Kouki, leader of the Bio-Hybrids. Immediately, Falcomon and Biyomon ran in front of their partners ready to fight.

Kiriha Aonuma appeared, his gaze directed at Taiki. Meanwhile, Nene was being waved at by her own brother Yuu Amano. The problem was that he was perched on top of the shoulder of DarkKnightmon. At the knight's foot, Damemon danced around waving his arms.

Behind the villains, a massive creature made of magma rose from the ground, Bedlamon(he looks just like Chaos). Above the Digidestined, the clouds swirled around taking the form of a beautiful woman with blond hair and a long white dress, Harmoniamon(she looks just like Cosmos).

The villains took battle stances and got ready to fight. The Digidestined responded; twelve Digivices were brought out, and after several Digivolutions, twelve powerful Digimon appeared to counter the villains- WarGreymon, Lilymon, ExVeemon, Angewomon, Gallantmon, Sakuyamon, Loweemon, Kazemon, Ravemon, Garudamon, Shoutmon X5B and Mervamon Wide-Hi-Vision Sword.

For several tense seconds, the two sides just stared at each other. Then, with a loud cry, they charged at each other. A battle unlike anything before was about to take place.


	3. Clash Between Harmony and Disorder

CLASH BETWEEN HARMONY AND DISORDER

The first two Digimon to engage in battle were ExVeemon and Mephistomon. The former leaped at the latter with a balled up fist and the undying deterination to fight. Mephistomon dodged the punch and pulled his opponent into a bear hug. As ExVeemon struggled, his captor began chanting into his ear which would kill him if he didn't do anything. ExVeemon broke free of the hold; Mephistomon countered by creating a cloud of poisonous smog, but ExVeemon blew it away with his Vee-Laser. He tried another punch but ended up being blocked.

As they continued their fight, Kouki ran past them ready to tear someone to pieces. Lilymon was reluctant about attacking a human, but this was a human bent on killing her. She fired her Flower Cannon three times and missed. Kouki jumped and tried to kick her, but she flew away in time. Before he could land, Kouki pulled out his Digivice and became BioDarkdramon who flew in at Lilymon and tried to slash at her. She dodged it and fired another attack, but her opponent smacked it aside.

In the air, Garudamon and Lucemon were exchanging blow after blow. The Demon Lord shot out two bursts of light and darkness and struck the eagle's wings. Garudamon growled in pain, and Lucemon took this opportunity and smacked him into the ground sending up dust and making a large crater. As Lucemon smiled triumphantly and Kristy watched with horror where her partner was, a Wing Blade shot out of the dust cloud. Lucemon saw it and crossed his arms but still felt pain as the attack struck him. Garudamon flew up and gave his opponent a smirk. Lucemon growled before continuing the fight.

Back on the ground, Angewomon flew from side to side as Piedmon threw his swords at her. Seeing that he was out of swords, Angewomon prepared a Celestial Arrow aimed for his heart. She sudenly sensed something behind and flew upwards just before Piedmon's telekinetically controlled swords could stab her back. She fired her arrow, but MaloMyotismon flew in and swatted it away with a wave of his hand. He turned towards the angel of light and fired from the cannons on his shoulders. Sakuyamon saw this and hastily put a barrier around Angewomon, saving her from the attack. The two female Digimon nodded at each other before charging at their enemies.

Ravemon and Duskmon ran parallel to each other while exchanging blows from their swords. Sparks flew off in different directions whenever their blades clash against each other. Ravemon aimed a slash at his opponent's legs; Duskmon jumped away before the attack could connect. Ravemon went into his Burst Mode while Duskmon became Velgemon. They fired their attacks at each other causing a huge explosion.

Mervamon Wide-Hi-Vision Sword and Loweemon ran towards Parasimon who countered by launching several electrifying tentacles. Slashing their weapons, they deflected the tentacles and continued towards their target. A nervous Parasimon watched his opponents approach until MetalEtemon jumped over him and charged at the two. He blocked a stab from Loweemon. With him distracted, he tried punching Mervamon only to be blocked by the broad side of her sword. Loweemon backed up, Slide Digivolved to JagerLoweemon and readied a blast of energy with MetalEtemon's name on it. Before he could, Parasimon got his tentacles around him, shocked him painfully and threw him back. Mervamon tried to help but was kicked aside by her opponent.

Wielding a large trident, Dragomon impaled the ground wher his opponent Kazemon was. Flying out-of-the-way, she fired multiple tornadoes which were blocked by the trident. She proceeded to kick the trident rapidly, but Dragomon's tentacle snuck up on her and grabbed her. As he watched her struggle with glee, he body flased white causing him to let go. Recovering, he saw Kazemon become Zephyrmon who launched multiple wind blades. Each one ripped Dragomon's flesh painfully; he was only further injured by a painful kick from the Warrior of the Wind.

Laughing maniacally on the belly of Belphemon, Kurata launched multiple chains at the airborne Shoutmon X5B. The latter used his sword to block the attack only to have the chains coil around it and fling it away. Annoyed, he flew in at Kurata while firing his cannon; Kurata cancelled it out with a blast of pitch-black flames and sent more chains at him. Shoutmon X5B flew sideways to avoid the chains and headed toward his sword which was sticking out of the ground. He picked it up, flew in and slashed at Kurata. He unfortunately saw this coming and slashed with his claws. Trapped in a deadlock, the two fighters gazed into each other's eyes neither one wanting to surrender.

Two knights, Gallantmon and DarkKnightmon, stared at each other with great intensity before charging at each other. Gallantmon fired a blast of energy from Aegis (his shield), but DarkKnightmon jumped over it and came down lance raised. Gallantmon parried the attack with his own Gungnir (his lance) before swinging it and hitting the evil knight's side. DarkKnightmon recovered and stabbed his lance; Gallantmon was able to block it with his shield but was still pushed back several feet. Shaking the attack off, he charged, and the two knights continued their bout. As they did, Yuu, who was at a safe distance between the two, watched the battle and cheered excitedly as if he was watching a really entertaining show.

With the determination to win, Kiriha reloaded his team and Xrossed them into DeckerGreymon. WarGreymon was in the air which was the worst place to be if you're fighting DeckerGreymon. The former looked down to see a ball of plasma headed his way. He hastily countered with Terra Force which caused an explosion when it collided with DeckerGreymon's attack. Flying through the smoke, WarGreymon put his claws together and spun like a large drill. DeckerGreymon fired another attack, but WarGreymon drilled right through it and into DeckerGreymon's chest. The latter was knocked off his feet but landed easily. The two Greymons charged again and again at each other, neither one showing any signs of surrender.

Lucemon slammed two spheres of light and darkness into Garudamon's chest causing an explosion that knocked his out of the sky. The latter flew in the direction of Lilymon and BioDarkdramon who were still fighting. BioDarkDramon saw him fall, and, after dodging a Flower Cannon, readied his lance to impale him. Lilymon saw this and shot out vines which wrapped around his body; she flung him away allowing Garudamon to recover. Lucemon saw this and flew in to attack, but a Flower Cannon struck his right should and knocked him off-balance. Lilymon fired another one while Garudamon used Wing Blade, and both of them hit Lucemon.

Mervamon was still busy fighting MetalEtemon; her sword didn't seem to do much damage against his Chrome Digizoid body. JagerLoweemon wanted to help her, but Parasimon was keeping him busy. MetalEtemon called forth a bolt of black lighting and struck her. The pain of the attack brough her to her knees; MetalEtemon smirked as he readied to deliver the final blow, but before he could, several wind blades which missed their intended target struck him and knocked him aside. Mervamon turned to Zephyrmon to thank her for the save, but she was still busy fighting Dragomon. Mervamon flew in to help seeing that MetalEtemon would be out for a while.

Mephistomon slammed his knee into ExVeemon's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He delivered another painful blow which knocked him back several feet. Mephistomon charged, but at that moment, DeckerGreymon deflected a Terra Force from WarGreymon. The attack struck Mephistomon's back and knocked him away. WarGreymon helped ExVeemon stand up and gave him a look saying that they weren't done yet. The latter nodded in agreement and resumed their battle.

It was a long, epic battle between the forces of Harmoniamon and Bedlamon. The two gods just watched as their chosen warriors clashed against each other. Eventually, it came to a point where both sides were equally tired from the fight. They regrouped and readied themselves to end it once and for all.

Twenty four different attacks were fired; colliding in the middle, a massive explosion blew everyone away.


	4. Harmoniamon's Wish

Merry Christmas to you

* * *

><p>HARMONIAMON'S WISH<p>

"Mnggh..." a groaning Tai said as he woke up. He raised his aching head and looked around. He seemed to still be in Order's Sanctuary. With a jolt, he spotted his partner lying face down several feet away.

He hastily got to his feet and ran to his side. "Agumon! Agumon, are you alright? Wake up!"

With a groan, Agumon did wake up and clutch his head. "Aw man, that battle really wore me out."

"You guys are up to?" Tai turned around and saw Takato and Guilmon rising.

"Takato, Guilmon, you're alright." Tai said relieved.

Guilmon sniffed the air. "There're others here too." he said.

"Over here!" a voice shouted. The group turned and saw Palmon and Mimi. A few feet away, Renamon was helping Rika to her feet.

The guys ran over to the girls. "Is this everyone? Where's everyone else?" Agumon asked.

"We must've been separated from the blast from that last attack." Rika said.

"Yeah maybe you're right. Speaking of that last battle, how the heck did those guys show up again?" Takato asked. "I mean, we beat Mephistomon and Parasimon ages ago, didn't we Rika?"

"The same thing for Piedmon and MetalEtemon; I thought we'd seen the last of them." Mimi said.

Tai clenched his fists. "I don't get any of this...What the the heck's going on!"

His answer came almost intantly; there came a bright flash nearby , and the eight of them turned to its source. It came from the throne in the middle of the area. Sitting on it was a beautiful woman in a white dress. She was panting heavily as if she was tired.

"Hey, are you OK?" Tai asked running to her. The woman looked at him before looking upwards. Her body glowed, and she shot a column of white light into the sky.

Meanwhile...

"Taiki...Taiki! Wake up you gotta see this." Shoutmon's voice said through the darkness.

Clutching his head, Taiki slowly sat up and looked at the red Digimon. "Shoutmon, what's-"

He stopped mid sentence when he realized where he was. He looked up and saw stars adorn the sky. Looking down, he then realized where they were.

"W-We're on the moon!" he cried out.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Taiki turned around and found Dorulumon and the rest of the Xros Heart Army rise.

"We're on the moon; how the heck are we breathing!" Taiki cried out again.

"I dunno; just be glad that we're all still alive." Shoutmon told him.

Taiki looked around wondering where he really was. In reality, he was on Ophanimoon at least, what it looked like before Lucemon smashed it to pieces. Looking up, we gasped at the sight of a girl riding on top of a yellow jet.

"Nene! We're over here! Nene!" Taiki shouted while waving his arms. Nene spotted him and told Sparrowmon to fly down.

"Taiki!" she said hopping off Sparrowmon. "I've been looking around for anyone else that could be here. Did you see anyone else?"

"No; I just woke up. I don't know what's going on honestly." Taiki said with sulking.

Suddenly, a burst of green flames shot out quite a distance away. "That must be someone." Nene said.

"We'd better go check it out." Taiki said putting everyone except Shoutmon in his Xros Loader. He, Shoutmon and Nene hopped on Sparrowmon who flew off in the direction of the flames.

"Look, it's Kristy, Biyomon, Keenan and Falcomon." Sparrowmon said spotting them. Keenan found them first and signalled them to go in closer.

"You guys alright?" Taiki asked.

"We're fine. No one's here but us." Kristy answered.

Suddenly, Falcomon, Biyomon, Shoutmon and Sparrowmon tensed up. "What's wrong?" Keenan asked.

"Something's heading this way, but t doesn't feel like a bad presence." Falcomon replied.

Before any other questions could be asked, a column of light hit the ground in front of them. The four of them watched as it took the form of a woman in a white dress.

Meanwhile...

"Where are we?" Kari asked as she looked around. She was in a city, but it was completely destroyed. In addition to the red light that shone on the area, there were toppled down buildings, cracked roads and destroyed vehicles. Green strips of binary code were found. The sky above them was filled with destroyed ships and submarines. She didn't know what this place was called, but it was known as Mephistomon's Vision.

"We'd better find a way out of here fast." Gatomon said.

Just then, Davis and Veemon came running out of a nearby street. "Davis, over here!" Kari shouted.

Davis and Veemon heard them and rushed to them. "Good to see that you two're alright. Where are the others?" the goggle head asked.

"No sight of them." Kari said shaking her head.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Veemon asked pointing at something in the distance; it looked like a collumn of light. They ran through the streets of the desolated city towards it.

The found the pillar of light in the middle of a four-way intersection. They had just arrived when they spotted Koichi and Zoe coming out of an adjacent street.

"Koichi, Zoe, there you are." Davis said to them.

"Did you guys find anyone else?" Zoe asked.

"No, we just followed this light thing." Davis said jerking his thumb at the pillar. It suddenly flashed and turned into a woman with a white dress.

The woman projected her message across the three areas. She spoke in a weak voice to the Digidestined. "I am Harmoniamon, Digital Goddess of peace. And I am the one who summoned you all to the Digital World."

"Yeah, this place does seem different from the last time we were here." Tai said. "Why'd you summon us here Harmoniamon."

She continued. "I have been defeated by the god of chaos Bedlamon. He has called forth malicious Digimon to assist him in destroying this world."

"Bedlamon must be that big lava guy we saw." Taiki told his companions.

Harmoniamon paused for a bit. "He will now stop until the Digital World is reduced to nothingness. You are the last hope this world has. I ask you, you must gather what will never perish even if the rest of the world does, the crystals."

"Crystals?" Davis asked.

"The crystals are our only chance of winning this war. When all of them have been gathered, their light will vanquish the forces of destruction. The journey to the crystals will not be an easy. It will be dangerous, far more dangerous than any other journey you may have had. But I believe in all of you; I know that you will succeed in saving the Digital World."

"If this's a new adventure, then I'm up for it. Whaddya say Guilmon?" Takato said.

Keenan took a step forward. "I won't let you down Harmoniamon; I will find the crystals."

"I'm in on it. How 'bout you guys?" Davis asked. Everyone else nodded without hesitation.

Harmoniamon nodded and looked at them. "I must rest for the time being; I will assist you whenever I can. Good luck my warriors."

With that final note, Harmoniamon vanished in a flash of light. Tai turned back to his companions. "She could be right; this could be our most dangerous adventure yet. You sure you guys don't wanna go back?"

"Palmon and I are in this the whole way Tai." Mimi said as her partner nodded in agreement.

"I'll go too, but I'm not sure if I can take being around goggle head here for too long." Rika said pointing at Takato who was happily talking about their new adventure with Guilmon.

Back on Ophanimoon, Taiki turned to the rest of his group. "Well you guys heard Harmoniamon; we should probably stick together when we look for the crystals."

"Oh I'm just so excited." Kristy said. "This's my first adventure with Biyomon."

"Yes, but you should be careful Kristy. There's no telling when our enemies will attack again." Keenan warned.

Within the ruined city, Davis's group were talking about their new mission. "Alright guys, getting the crystals could be tough, but I'm sure we can manage if we all stick together." he said.

"I'm sorry Davis, but I want to go on my own." Koichi said all of a sudden.

The whole group turned to him. "But Koichi-" Zoe began.

He turned to her which stopped her mid sentence. "I'm sorry Zoe, but there's something I have to do alone. I'll be fine; I promise. If I finish and find a crystal, I'll see if I can get back to you guys."

Zoe was still unconvinced. "You sure you'll be alright Koichi?" Kari asked.

He sighed and turned around on them. "I will...I'll see you guys later...bye..."

He walked away on his own. "Koichi..." Zoe said watching his retreating figure.

"He said he'll We should trust him Zoe." Davis said. Zoe nodded.

The Digidestined were now all ready for their most dangerous mission yet. With their hearts set on saving the Digital world, the twelve children began their search for the crystals.

Meanwhile...

The area was big enough to fit a few houses in it. It consisted of a large, circular platform at he center. All around it were hundreds of large, crystal-shaped objects.

The image of the children beginning their journey was shown in the middle of Drasil's Chamber which had occupants, sinister occupants.

"Hmph, so they've started their search for the crystals." Piedmon said to his companions.

"They have no idea how futile their attempts are. They're going around searching for crystals foolishly thinking that they can end this war." Lucemon said with a hearty laugh. "They're just pitiful."

"I say we take 'em on right now." MetalEtemon added before spotting Koichi alone. "Look that guys's alone. Why don't I just go take care of-"

Before he could finish, a red blade appeared near his shoulder causing him to back off. "Hey, what's the big idea!" he shouted at Duskmon.

The latter retracted his sword and glared at the metalic ape. "He's my target; I'll deal with him myself." Duskmon said threateningly.

"Wow, you're the picky type." Kouki said walking up to him. "I, unlike you, am just gonna tear apart any loser I see without even asking who they were."

"Yes, that is a good option but we have alternatives." Piedmon said eyeing Parasimon. "Your abilities could prove quite usefull. Maybe turn an enemy into a temporary ally."

"Yeah, that'd be fun." Parasimon said grinning. "Just gimme someone to control, and I'll unleash hell."

"Hmm, you could be useful for a little plan I have." Dragomon said in deep thought while stroking his chin with an evil smile. "Duskmon, you might find this plan interesting. Care to listen?"

Duskmon was interested and walked over to discuss Dragomon's plan. "Uh hey, clown guy." Piedmon felt a tugging at his leg. He looked down and saw Yuu.

"Hey, DarkKnightmon and I wanna fight those guys too. When do we get our chance?" Yuu asked.

His partner approached him from behind. "Yes, a good battle to the death with one of those children will do me nicely." he said.

"Yeah! Those guys are no good! No good at all!" Damemon said dancing around much to DarkKnightmon's annoyance.

"Hey, you'll get your shot just like the rest of us." Kurata said joining their group. "And when my time comes, it's curtains for those brats."

There came and evil laugh from MaloMyotismon who joined them as well. "Yes, but I wonder if we can expect the same from these two who've been rather quiet lately."

He was talking about Kiriha and Mephistomon who were standing away from them. "C'mon guys, join the party! We're planning the end of those kids!" MetalEtemon invited.

"Hmph." Kiriha turned his head away from the rest of the villains. "If you think we're all friends here, you're wrong. All I want to do is defeat Taiki, and if any of you get in my way-"

He brought out his Xros Loader to show that he meant business. "You can put that away; in fighting isn't allowed by Bedlamon." Lucemon warned.

"Bedlamon, hah." Mephistomon said. "We're all here because he promised us power if we helped him. As soon as that deal's done, we could all just end up turning on each other.

"Yes well, our alliance with one another is only for the time being." Piedmon said. "We should take advantage of it and crush those kids once and for all."

"Yes, we can deal with each other when they're all gone." Kurata said eager to fight.

"Then it's settled." Piedmon said eyeing the children. "Enjoy your new friends while you can you poor fools! The demise of the Digidestined begins now!"

He and almost every other villain gave an evil laugh. Then, each of them left in order to plan the Digidestined's demise.


	5. True Darkness Part 1

_Koichi Kimura, the wielder of the Spirit of Darkness..._

_Denying the company of others, he set off alone on his journey towards his crystal._

_He has committed many sins in his troubled past,_

_But will finding the crystal and ending the war between the gods redeem himself?_

TRUE DARKNESS PART 1

All alone, Koichi treaded through the empty terrain that was called Spiral Mountain Peak. He didn't know how it had been since he started searching. Nor did he nave any idea where he was. Deciding to take a break, he sat down on a nearby rock.

He looked over his shoulder and saw just how alone he was. To him, it was a good thing to be apart from the others especially Zoe. He still felt guilty for the things he did in the past. All the while, he had thought that his mistakes have fixed, his sins atoned.

That all changed when he saw Duskmon again.

The corrupted Spirit of Darkness...Duskmon was the form he took when he did those horrible things. When his Spirits of Darkness were purified, he thought that he wouldn't have to worry about him again. And then here he was alive and kicking wanting to destroy him and his friends.

The fact that Duskmon had returned meant to him that he had yet to redeem himself. As long as Duskmon still lived, he would always be reminded of the things he did and the people he hurt.

He couldn't bear being around her; she knew more that anyone else there the things he did. Stricken with guilt, he left her and the others to search for the crystals. Duskmon would surely try to interfere with his search; if he did Koichi knew he had to take him down once and for all.

Thinking that he had rested long enough, Kochi stood up and resumed his search. Spiral Mountain Peak didn't seem to hold any crystal nor any clue leading to it. Koichi decided to go back and try another area when something appeared in the distance: a human and a Digimon.

Curious, he ran towards them. Stopping a few feet from them, he realized that they were Kari and Gatomon. "Kari? What're you two doing here?" he asked them.

They didn't answer; Koichi noticed the blank, emotionless expression on their faces. Koichi tried asking again. "Weren't you two with Zoe? Wait, did something happen?" he asked worriedly.

"Make it go away..." Kari said taking out her D-3.

"Huh?"

She used her right hand to hold up the Digivice while she used her left to clutch her head as if she was in pain. "Make the darkness go away!" she screamed.

Gatomon Digivolve to...

Angewomon!

"What's going on here?" Koichi said taking a few steps back. Angewomon took one look at him.

"Celestial Arrow!"

His timing was spot on; the attack just missed him by inches. Koichi didn't understand why they were attacking him. He had no choice but to fight back; maybe that would make them come to their senses. He stood up and took out his D-Tector.

Execute Spirit Evolution!

Loweemon!

Carrying his lance, Loweemon gazed at Angewomon who hovered a few feet of the ground.

"Learn the full weight of your sins..." she said.

"What's gotten into you two!" Loweemon shouted as Angewomon fired another Celestial Arrow. He rolled to the side to avoid the attack.

"Shadow Meteor!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

Angewomon was able to put up her shield just in time to block Loweemon's attack. His attack ended, and she fired her shield in his direction but it was destroyed by a swing of Loweemon's lance.

He charged at her, and she fired another Celestial Arrow. Loweemon used his lance to vault himself over the attack and launched himself at her. The angel of light flew sideways to avoid the blow and fired another arrow, but Loweemon was able to block it with his shield despite being pushed back a bit.

"Shadow Lance!"

He spun his lance around several times before thrusting it at Angewomon. She fired another Heaven's Charm at him, but his lance broke right through it. Seeing no alternative, she flew above him before his attack could connect. As Loweemon passed under her, She twisted in his direction and fired a Celestial Arrow straight down.

Loweemon's left shoulder was grazed by the arrow. Crying out in pain, he quickly turned around and countered another Celestial Arrow with Shadow Meteor. An ensuing explosion threw up a cloud of smoke giving Angewomon cover to fire Heaven's Charm.

Loweemon was surprised when he saw the cross-shaped attack emerge from the smoke. He blocked the attack with his own shield and fired another Shadow Meteor which removed the smoke but missed Angewomon. A cry of "Celestial Arrow!" made him turn around and find her; he swung his lance at the last second which cancelled out her attack.

Panting, Loweemon took a sidelong look at Kari who was watching the fight silently with blank eyes. Whatever wa going on to her and Angewomon, he had to break it and bring them to their senses. Maybe if he could just knock Angewomon out, she'd go back to normal, and they might be able to bring Kari back as well.

Loweemon, Slide Evolution!

JagerLoweemon!

"Ebony Blast!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

Angewomon's shield was up in time to block the attack, but she was still pushed back a little. Her opponent's Beast form clearly was stronger than his human form. Indeed, he continued to release bursts of dark energy; her shield was in danger of shattering.

Thinking fast she fired it at him before it could break, but JagerLoweemon dodged. She fired Celestial Arrow instead, but it was cancelled out by another Ebony Blast. He fired another one, and she flew out-of-the-way.

"Dark Master!"

A lion-shapped burst of dark energy came her way, but Angewomon didn't try to evade it. Instead, she calmly fired a Celestial Arrow into the lion of darkness. It struck it right in its forehead and went right through it hitting JagerLoweemon in the exact same spot. Meanwhile, the burst was weakened, but it still hit her. Both of them were sent reeling back.

Shaking his head, JagerLoweemon looked up thinking that the blow Angewomon took may have made her return to her senses. Instead, he found her getting to her feet looking as ready as ever to destroy him. A Heaven's Charm headed his way confirmed this.

He dodged and fired another Ebony Blast which shattered another Heaven's Charm fired at him. He was starting to get tired of this. "Maybe one good blow would do it." he thought.

JagerLoweemon Slide Digivolve!

Loweemon!

"Celestial Arrow!"

He raised his shield to block it.

"Shadow Meteor!"

Angewomon readied herself to dodge, but she didn't need to. The attack struck the ground near her feet sending up a large dust cloud. She had an idea to what he was planning- a sneak attack. She put up her shield and swiveled around, waiting for his attack.

She sensed something to her left and quickly turned. She heard a loud clang as Loweemon's lance collided with her shield. Angewomon fired her shield forward which in the process cleared up the dust cloud a bit. To her surprised, she didn't find him; he simply threw his lance at her. So where was he?

"Shadow Meteor!"

She turned around and found Loweemon right behind her. She was hit right in the stomach by his attack and was knocked several feet back. She collapsed in a heap several feet away. Loweemon picked up his lance and readied himself to fight again, but she had reverted back to Gatomon.

He lowered his stance. "Gatomon, what's going on? What happened to Kari?" he asked.

Gatomon slowly stood up and looked at him with a blank expression. "Must...destroy...darkness..." she said.

This concerned Loweemon greatly. He had thought that she would be back to normal, but whatever was doing this to her really kept a strong hold. Gatomon, despite how weak she was, took a fighting stance. Kari walked behind her silently.

"What're you two doing?" Loweemon asked.

"What they're supposed to do."

He of all people recognized that voice; he nearly froze upon hearing it. He turned around. There was a flash of a red blade, and he felt it slash his chest. Slowly Loweemon fell backwards and reverted back to his human form. Clutching his chest, Koichi looked up at the Digimon towering before him.

"Duskmon..." he said.

The Digimon surveyed him for a while. "Pleased to see me Koichi?" he asked.

Koichi backed up a bit. "Why're you here? What do you want from me?"

Instead of answering, Duskmon turned to Gatomon and nodded. She jumped and landed on Koichi's chest knocking the air out of him a little. Slowly, he looked up and saw her very sharp claws near his neck.

"Fitting isn't it? The good and just light is about to destroy the evil that is darkness." Duskmon said.

"I'm not evil." Koichi told him. Gatomon's claws inched closer to his throat.

"Oh but you are Koichi. You were and you always will be." Duskmon said evilly.

"What're you talking about?"

Duskmon spoke slowly so he would understand. "You are darkness Koichi. It's your nature to hurt others. Think out about it. As me, you attacked your friends including your own brother. And just now, you chose to fight instead trying to reason with these two. Face it." His eyes narrowed. "No matter how many times you say you've change, you can never change who you really are-an evil creature from darkness!"

'N-No!" Koichi cried out. "I'm not...I'm..." He didn't know what to say.

"Time to pay for your sins." Duskmon turned to Gatomon. "End him!"

She pulled her arm back, and her claws went straight for his neck.

"Thunder Blast!"

All of them looked up. Davis was riding on Raidramon who fired his attack at Duskmon. Duskmon jumped out-of-the-way; Koichi used this distraction and threw Gatomon off him. He quickly scampered away.

"You let Kari and Gatomon go!" Davis yelled. Raidramon fired another Thunder Blast. Duskmon jumped and landed next to Kari.

"If you want them back, come follow me. I'll be waiting Koichi." Duskmon said before vanishing with Kari and Gatomon.

Koichi stood up, and Davis and Raidramon approached him. "You alright Koichi?" Davis asked.

"I'm fine. What happened to those two?" Koichi asked.

Davis got off his partner. "Duskmon attacked us. Kari was able to hold him off but...I don't know exactly what happened to them."

"Wait, isn't Zoe with you? Where is she?" Koichi sounded worried.

"She left a while ago to look for you. She was really worried about you."

Koichi looked down guiltily. "She does huh?"

"Davis," Raidramon began. "I think I can track them. We should go now."

"Good. C'mon Koichi, we have to save them." Davis said with a nod.

"Sure. Let's go." The two of them got onto Raidramon and rode off into the distance.


	6. True Darkness Part 2

TRUE DARKNESS PART 2

Duskmon's lair, a black abyss with a dark purple floor and a glowing Crest of Light was called Darkness Sphere. Duskmon himself was standing there waiting patiently for Koichi to appear. Nearby, Kari and Gatomon stood with blank expression on their faces.

"Hey Duskmon, how long do I have to keep this up?" a voice asked. "I've got someone I wanna destroy too."

"I know, but you'll do as you're told." Duskmon answered the voice. He looked at Kari and Gatomon. "By the way how is _he_ doing?"

The voice chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's giving them hell."

Meanwhile...

Raidramon, who was carrying Davis and Koichi on his back, was galloping an area new to them. The strange place was floating mountain called Disc Zone, at least it used to be. Now, after nearly being destroyed by a battle, it's called Disc Zone Ruins.

"Hey Davis, could I take a break? My legs are starting to cramp up." Raidramon said.

"Fine. This place looks like a good enough place to rest." Davis replied. Raidramon stopped, let his passengers down and reverted back to Veemon.

"Ah, my legs." he said rubbing them.

"I say we could use a good 20 minute break. What do you think Koichi?" Davis asked. "Koichi?"

But Koichi had separated himself from them. He climbed on top of one of the towers which supported him despite the fact that it looked like it would crumble under his weight. He looked into the distance, into the destroyed landscape.

He could hear climbing. He turned around and saw Davis and Veemon climb to his level. "Hey, you alright Koichi?" Davis asked.

"Er...yeah. I'm doing fine." Koichi answered half-heartedly.

"Well you don't sound fine." Veemon said crossing his arms. "Why'd you leave us anyway?"

Koichi sighed and turned away. "Nothing...it's nothing."

"So? We still wanna hear it. We're friends aren't we Koichi? Why don't you let us help you?" Davis said.

Koichi sighed and decided to give in. "I did some things in the past...horrible things. Duskmon was the form I took when I did those things. I thought I'd made up for those things, but now that he's back...I guess it meant that I haven't done enough. I can't even forgive myself for the things I did. I want to defeat Duskmon alone, so I can make up for the things I did."

When he was done, he lowered his head. Davis and Veemon looked at each other. "That's it?"

Koichi looked up. "What?"

"Look, we know a guy who used to fight for the wrong side." Veemon said. "He was really sorry about it, so we forgave him."

"But I hurt my own friends." Koichi said unconvinced. "I hurt Zoe, even my own brother."

"He enslaved the entire Digital World." Davis added.

"And you still forgave him after everything he's done?" Koichi asked.

"Well, yeah." Davis said patting Koichi's shoulder. "I don't actually mind much what you did; I mean, we all mess up sometimes right? It doesn't matter what you've done; that's in the past isn't it? It's what you do now that really matters.."

"...Davis..." Koichi said.

A bright flash of light caught their attention. They looked around and saw a sphere of light on the highest tower of the ruins. Wondering what it was, the three of them headed towards the highest turret. There, the light flashed and turned into a beautiful woman.

"Harmoniamon." the three of them said.

The goddess surveyed them before speaking. "The others have begun their journey for their crystals as well." She looked at the horizon. "But Kari and Gatomon...they are being tormented severely; they cry for relief."

"This is all Duskmon's fault." Davis said clenching his fists. "Can't you do anything about Harmoniamon?"

She closed her eyes for a while. "I could tap into the light that dwells in Kari's heart and use it to reveal her location. But freeing her completely will not be as simple."

"I'm sure we can handle it." Davis said confidently.

As Veemon nodded in agreement, Koichi approached Harmoniamon. "Does something trouble you child?" she asked.

"Harmoniamon, could I ask you something?" he said reluctantly.

She nodded. "Yes you may. What seems to be bothering you?"

He looked unsure of himself, but he spoke anyway. "Harmoniamon, it's just...I mean...I'm the Warrior of Darkness. Why would you, the goddess of peace, want me on to fight for you?"

A short silence followed his question. "Koichi, allow me to ask you somethingin turn." Harmoniamon began. "Duskmon too posseses the power the darkness. What do you think he plans to do with it."

"Kill and destroy. That's all he ever wanted." Koichi knew the answer to that more than anyone else.

"But you also posses the power of darkness. Would you do the same?"

"No." Koichi shook his head.

"Then what will you do with it?" Harmoniamon presses. "You have great power at your command. What will you use it for?"

Koichi did some thinking. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I want to fight, but I want to do it to protect those I care about. I want to use this power as a force of good instead of evil."

The goddes gave him a smile. "Then you know why I am honored to have you fight for my cause." Koichi looked at her and smiled; he had the answer all along.

Harmoniamon slowly raised her hand causing a column of light to appear on the horizon. "I have reawakened the light within Kari's heart. Follow it, and it will lead you to her." Harmoniamon explained.

"Then we better hurry." Davis said. "Harmoniamon, thanks for the help. Don't worry about us; we'll find our crystals no matter what."

Harmoniamon smiled one last time before vanishing in a flash of light. Davis, Veemon and Koichi looked at the light column in the distance. "Let's go; Kari needs us." Koichi said , and they departed.

At Darkness Sphere...

"Duskmon!" Koichi yelled when they arrived. Duskmon looked rather pleased with himself when they arrived.

"So you came. What does a sinner want from me?" he asked.

Koichi wasn't intimidated at all. "Release Kari and Gatomon." he demanded.

At that moment, Kari and Gatomon appeared beside Duskmon. "But they seem to like my company so much. If you want them back, then take them by force."

"Uh, Davis," Veemon said nervously as Kari took out her D-3. "I don't think I can fight them."

Davis growled in frustration; he couldn't bring himself to hurt his friends. Just then, Koichi noticed something; it looked like a spot behind Kari and Gatomon where space was distorted.

"Davis, there's something behind them." Koichi said pointing at it. Veemon understood and charged.

"Vee-Headbutt!"

Veemon seemed to collide with solid air, but then a Digimon appeared where he struck. Kari and Gatomon fell to the ground unconscious while the spider Digimon cursed.

"Parasimon! So you're the one controlling them!" Davis yelled. He turned to Koichi. "We'll handle him; you take care of Duskmon."

Koichi nodded, and Davis and Veemon left to confront Parasimon. "You think you can face me alone? I'll make you suffer for the things you did."

Determined, Koichi pulled out his D-Tector. "I won't let you hurt anyone else ever again!"

Execute Spirit Evolution!

Loweemon!

"Prepare to die!" Duskmon said making the blades on his arms appear. He lunged at Loweemon and slashed but was blocked by his shield.

Loweemon pushed him back before slashing with his lance. Duskmon ducked the first strike and blocked the second one. He jumped back and fired numerous lasers from the eyes all over his body. Loweemon blocked with his shield and countered with Shadow Meteor which missed.

The two Warriors of Darkness charged again and slashed at the same time. Their weapons clanged as they struck; they tried to push the other off.

"I'm not afraid of you." Loweemon said. He broke off from the hold and attempted a stab, but Duskmon jumped back.

"You should be." He landed and Slide Digivolved to Velgemon. Loweemon fired Shadow Meteor, but his opponent had already taken to the air. He circled around Koichi once an fired a burst of dark energy from his forehead.

Loweemon thought fast and Slide Digivolved to JagerLoweemon. He countered with Dark Matter which cancelled out his winged opponent's attack. He continued to fire bursts of dark energy, but Velgemon kept flying out-of-the-way.

Velgemon flew towards the ground and touched his wing to it. He flew around JagerLoweemon drawing a circle in the process. Knowing this attack, he ran out of the circle just before a dome appeared and closed and set off a massive explosion.

JagerLoweemon recovered and looked at the smoke cloud created by the attack. It cleared, and Velgemon flew to the ground. "Not giving up aren't you?" he said turning into Duskmon.

JagerLoweemon turned into his human spirit as well. "I'm nothing like you. We're both beings of darkness; we get to chose what to do with it. Darkness isn't evil; it's whoever uses it who's evil. I'll show you; Darkness can be used for good." He held his lance and shield tightly.

"Darkness used for good? That's absurd. I'll show you what darkness is; I'll make you drown in it!"

He summoned his blades. The two of them glared at each other; the real fight was about to begin.


	7. True Darkness Part 3

TRUE DARKNESS PART 3

With a flash of red, Duskmon summoned his blades ready to confront his nemesis. "Darkness can never be used for good!" he taunted.

"It can! I'll prove it right now!" Loweemon replied getting ready to fight.

The two Warriors of Darkness charged at each other. Duskmon was relentless; his slashes were quick and could've taken out Loweemon if that shield wasn't in his way. After blocked several slashes with his shield, Loweemon pushed Duskmon back and attempted to stab. Duskmon crossed his swords and blocked the attack. He followed up with a kick to Loweemon's chest.

"Deadly Gaze!"

"Shadow Meteor!"

Red beams shot out of the eyes covering Duskmon's body while a black burst came from Loweemon's chest. Both attacks passed right through each other forcing the fighters to block. Loweemon was able to defend with his shield while Duskmon blocked with his swords.

"Lunar Plasma!"

Loweemon saw Duskmon rise while holding his swords out forming a red moon. The moon shattered revealing Duskmon rushing towards him at blinding speed. At the last second, Loweemon dropped onto his back allowing Duskmon to pass over him. Loweemon then kicked his enemy's chest an vaulted him over his body.

"Clever." Duksmon said landing on his feet. "But it's not enough. Deadly Gaze!"

Loweemon ran sideways, but the beams turned and continued to pursue him. He turned around and fired Shadow Meteor which cancelled out the attack. Duskmon rushed in to strike; Loweemon blocked with his lance and pushed his opponent back.

"Shadow Lance!"

Duskmon swung his blades at the same time as Loweemon's attack. The collisions of their weapons resulted in an explosion which sent both of them flying. They were able to land on their feet however.

"Had enough yet?" Loweemon asked. "I was you Duskmon; I know all your moves!"

"Hmph. That still isn't enough!" Duskmon yelled as he charged. Loweemon dodged his first two swipes before stabbing with his lance. Duskmon crossed his swords and parried the attack. He then used his swords to force Loweemon's weapon down.

"Deadly Gaze!"

Loweemon was able to raise his shield, but the attack was at point blank range. Loweemon was knocked away several feet and came to a screeching halt.

"Shadow Meteor!"

Duskmon jumped out of the way of the attack and rushed in again with Lunar Plasma. Lowemon fired another Shadow Meteor which collided with the speeding Duskmon and forced him to stop his attack. He retaliated with another Deadly Gaze which missed his target. Panting from the fight, Loweemon watched as his opponent jumped into the air.

Duskmon Slide Evolution...

Velgemon!

"Dark Vortex!"

"Shadow Meteor!"

Both attacks collided resulting in an explosion. Velgemon flew over the smoke searching around for his opponent, and a Shadow Meteor struck his back. Angrily, he found Loweemon behind him and lunged. Loweemon dodged the intial dive and jumped during the second one.

He landed on Velgemon's back. The latter began flying erratically in an attempt to knock him off. Loweemon kept his hold and kept stricking the back of Velgemon's head with his lance until Velgemon flew upwards and then did a barell roll. Loweemon began to plumet to the ground below.

Loweemon Slide Evolution...

JagerLoweemon!

Like a good feline, JagerLoweemon landed on his feet. Velgemon flew in and started drawing a line around JagerLoweemon with the tip of his wing.

"Dark Obliteration!"

The dome began to close around him. JagerLoweemon jumped out just in time to see it close completely. Thinking fast, he jumped on it and used it as leverage to leap at Velgemon using the explosion to propell him forward.

"Dark Master!"

Velgemon took a direct hit. Still in pain from the attack, he saw JagerLoweemon still heading towards him. The latter tackled Velgemon, and both started plumetting to the ground. Velgemon was able to get around his opponent and grab him with his talons. Gaining speed, he slammed him into the ground.

JagerLoweemon cried out in pain but then hastily recovered. He fired Ebony Blast at Velgemon's head forcing him to take off. He continued to fire Ebony Blast, but Velgemon flew around to avoid it.

Finally, his wings were struck. Velgemon cried out in pain and was distracted long enough for JagerLoweemon to Slide Evolve into Loweemon.

"Shadow Meteor!"

Velgemon was still stunned from the previous attack allwing him to take another direct hit. An explosion occured when the attack made contact; Loweemon has to shield himself from the shockwave of it. Then, from the dust cloud, Velgemon began to fall eyes closed; he had lost.

Before he could hit the ground, his eyes suddenly shot open. He flipped and Silde Evolved into Duskmon and landed on his feet. He lunged at Loweemon who was able to block a few of his blows, but he had to counter fast.

"I won't be defeated by the like of you!" Duskmon yelled as he continued to attack. Loweemon swiped with his lance, but Duskmon swatted it aside and kicked him in the chest. Loweemon fired Shadow Meteor which pushed Duskmon back a bit. He retaliated with Deadly Gaze which was blocked by Loweemon's sheild.

"And I won't let you hurt anyone ever again!" Loweemon yelled still willing to fight. Duskmon growled angrily and jumped.

"Lunar Plasma!"

"Shadow Lance!"

Their weapons slammed into each other, but pain coursed through Loweemon's body causing him to scream out. If Duskmon had a mouth, he'd be grinning as he watched his oppoenet lose power and reverted back to his human form.

Koichi was on all fours and in serious pain from the attack. He didn't ever have the strength to look up as Duskmon approached him and place a blade near his shoulder.

"You and your idea of darkness have lost.' Duskmon said. "You will always be a creature of evil. Deny it all you want, but you and I aren't so different."

Koichi didn't want to believe it. He gripped his D-Tector wanting to fight, but he just didn't have the strength to.

"Now, call out her name. Beg her for forgiveness which I doubt she will give. I mean, who would forgive you for the things you...no...the things we did." Duskmon continued to taunt.

Koichi clenched his fists and finally choked out: "Z...Zoe! I'm...I'm sorry."

Satisfied, Duskmon raised his blade, but Koichi continued to speak. "I'm sorry I didn't think you would be able to forgive me for the things I did...I'm sorry I left you and tried to be on my own...And I'm sorry that I didn't trust you enough to forgive me..."

Koichi slowly felt his strength return; Duskmon didn't like this at all. "I was a fool who didn't trust you enough. I'm tired of living in the past. You never seemed to care about my past, so why should I? I'm going to die right now, but I'll do it without feeling miserable about the past! I'm not Duskmon...I'm Koichi Kimura!"

"Time to die!" Duskmon raised his blade and swung it downwards.

"ZOE!"

The screen of Koichi's D-Tector suddenly glowedand flashed with white light forcing Duskmon to retreat. Koichi felt his strength completely ruturn to him allowing him to stand. He looked at his Digivice which engulfed him in light.

He now stood in the middle of a white abyss. He looked around and saw Loweemon's spirit in front of him. Turning around, he saw JagerLoweemon's.

"Koichi," they said at the same time. "We have sensed the strength of your heart. Do you truly wish to do good with the power you possess?"

Koichi's face was determined. "I do."

The spirits spoke again. "Then allow us to give you new power. Together, we will protect those you care for and save the Digital World."

The abyss vanished, and Koichi found himself back in Darkness Sphere with a surprised Duskmon before him. "Duskmon," he began. "Me and my idea haven't lost yet. Now watch; I'll show you what darkness is!"

He stuck out his hand which was soon covered in numerous rings of fractal code. With a swing of his arms, he swiped it across the tip of his D-Tector causing sparks to fly.

Execute!

The swipe was complete; the fractal code wrapped around his body.

Fusion Evolution!

He cried out as strength filled his body. Loweemon's spirit broke apart and added pieces of itself to his body. JagerLoweemon's spirit did the same thing. Soon, both spirits came together and merged with Koichi.

A new Digimon appeared. He looked like a bipedal JagerLoweemon with pistons on his shoulders. He had the head of a lion and carried a lance almost similar to Loweemon's. On his back were two golden wings.

Rhihimon!

Duskmon was slightly intimidated, but he didn't want to surrender. He became Velgemon and flew around Rhihimon while tracing a circle with his wing.

"Dark Obliteration!"

The sides began to rise and form a dome, but Rhihimon didn't even flinch. The dome closed up completely and was about to explode.

"Rot Kreuz!"

A large red cross slashed across the dome shattering it to pieces. Rhihimon flew out of it with his lance ready. Velgemon fired Dark Vortex which missed. Rhihimon slammed his lance into Velgemon's crossed wings.

"Schwarz Lehrsatz!"

The pistons on Rhihimon's shoulders fired a volley of black spheres at Velgemon. He tried flying away, but Rhihimon chased him through the air. Velgemon turned around and fired another Dark Vortex but Rhihimon evaded it before contuinuing to fire his attack.

Velgemon dove and reverted back to Duskmon before firing Deadly Gaze. Rhihimon crossed his arms and took the attack before landing.

"Lunar Plasma!"

Rhihimon raised his lance and blocked the attack. Duskmon slashed multiple times and was blocked multiple times. He slashed one last time and was once again blocked. Rhihimon swung his lance and knocked him into the air.

He pointed his lance at the air born Duskmon. At the same time, the pistons on his shoulders adjusted themselves so that they pointed forward. Dark energy began to gather at the pistons and the tip of his lance.

"Darkness Bluster!"

Three massive bursts of dark energy were fired. As they travelled towards Duskmon, they twirled around each other and merged forming the shape of a massive black lion with yellow eyes. It bared it fangs and opened its mouth and consumed Duskmon resulting in an explosion.

When the dust cleared, Duskmon fell down and didn't get back up; his body was already starting to turn into data. Rhihimon, seeing him defeated,reverted to his human form and approached.

"I'll say this again Duskmon. Darkness isn't evil. It all depends on who wields it. As long as you use it for evil, I'll always use it to stop you." he said.

Duskmon narrowed his eyes. "You think you've won? You're a fool; you're more cluless than I thought. My death doesn't change anything."

His body was almost gone, but he continued to speak. "This war between the gods isn't over yet. As long as you are a part of it...all you will know...is suffering..."

Those were his last words before his body was gone completely. Koichi sighed and smiled for the first time in a long time.

A flash of light from behind him caught his attention. He turned around and saw a small sphere of light floating a few feet off the ground. As he apporached it, it changed shape; it now looked like a black tip of a lance. On it in dark purple was his symbol of darkness.

"The crystal..." Koichi whispered. The crystal floated towards him, and he caught it in his hands. He gazed at it for a while before it vanished in a flash of light. Once again, Koichi smiled.

"Kari? C'mon, wake up already!" Koichi looked around and saw Davis trying to wake up and unconscious Kari; nearby, Veemon was doing a similar thing with Gatomon. Realizing that his friends needed him, he rushed over to help.

_His strength was tested, his resolve was impended, and his idea was threatened_

_Yet, the darkness in Koichi's heart was strong enough to overcome anything._

_Now with a crystal in his possesion, he continues to walk the path of darkness and use it for the sake of others._

_Guilt-free of the sins of his past, he now looks forward to a bright and clear future._


	8. Her Own Strength Part 1

_Kristy Damon, the daughter and sister of two great heroes of the Digital World..._

_Without her family, she travels with her partner and new friends on a quest to stop the power of discord..._

_Wishing to end the war of the gods, she sets her sights on her crystal..._

_Can she survive without her family's help? Or will she find strength on her own?_

HER OWN STRENGTH PART 1

"You had to run off Kristy; now look, we got separated from Taiki and Nene." Biyomon told his partner.

Kristy however was more calm about the situation. "Relax Biyomon. Keenan and Falcomon are still with us. We'll be fine."

The latter two were hiking walking ahead of them to scout out this new area. The place was...well, random. Different irregular shapes of different colors were everywhere, but the most striking one was that of a stone hand leaking out darkness. Dreamer's Paradise was truly a strange place to be.

"Hey Keenan, can we take a break? My legs are tired." Kristy said stopping for a while.

Keenan looked around a bit. "Fine, but only for 10 minutes."

"Thanks." With a relieved sigh, Kristy sat down. She then looked up and saw Keenan patrolling the area around them. "Y'know, you could use a rest too Keenan."

Keenan stopped his patrol to answer. "Bedlamon's minions might show up any minute. I want to be ready when they come for us."

"Sheesh, could you relax a little?" Kristy said.

"Don't worry about him Kristy; he just wants to protect you since your brother isn't here." Falcomon told her.

Kristy puffed out her chest proudly and smiled. "He shouldn't worry at all. Biyomon and I can handle it, right?"

"Right, I'm with you Kristy." Biyomon replied eagerly. Falcomon sighed thinking that she was almost like her brother.

Her brother...Kristy wondered if he was alright back home. As soon as this war of the gods thing was over, she hoped that she'd be able to take Biyomon home with her. Maybe she could convince Harmoniamon to send the other's Digimon back to them. That would be really good.

Of course, she'd have to find a crystal first. Harmoniamon said that this would be the most dangerous thing she'd ever do. Her brother wasn't around, but she wasn't afraid as long as she had Biyomon and her friends.

Keenan finally decided that the area was safe and sat down across Kristy. Unknown to either of them, they were being watched by two familiar faces from Drasil's Chamber. It was Kurata along with his servant Kouki.

"These two brats got separated. They're practically defenseless now." Kurata said.

Kouki nodded and then spotted Kristy. "Hey, that's _his_ sister!" he cried out. He felt so thrilled; since he couldn't take out his rival, he could just take out his sister instead.

"Later man, I've got a little girl to kill." Kouki said excitedly walking off.

Kurata looked at him and shot a chain which blocked his path. "You're not going anywhere yet. We have to strike when the time is right." he told Kouki.

The Bio-Hybrid turned angrily towards his creator. "You can't tell me what to do old man." Kouki said taking out his Digivice. "I fight who I want and when I want, and if you get in my way..."

Kouki growled angrily; he didn't like being bossed around like that. Sure he served Kurata before, but he was never his master. Heck, the only "master" he served was his own destructive urges.

Kouki grumpily walked back to Kurata. "Don't worry Kouki. I promise that you'll get your chance." the latter said.

"Yeah well...I'm gonna go find someone else to fight. Just holler when you need me."

Kouki left before Kurata could stop him. The scientist sighed and began waiting for his chance to strike.

Back with Kristy and Keenan...

"We've had wnough rest. We better get going." Keenan said getting to his feet.

Kristy too stood up and, so did the Digimon. "Should we look for the others or should we search for the crystals?" Biyomon asked.

Keenan thought about it. "Finding the others would be easier. We'd have more help finding the crystals that way."

"Why don't you and Falcomon scout ahead Keenan? We'll find the others quicker that way." Kristy suggested.

The boy looked uneasy about the idea. "I don't know about this Kristy. What if one of Bedlamon's minions attack?"

Kristy pulled out her Data Link Digivice and showed it to Keenan. "Biyomon and I will be fine. C'mon Keenan, don't you trust us?"

"I...I do. It's just..." Keenan still looked unsure about this. He looked at Kristy's pleading face and made up his mind. "OK. But let's meet up here again after we find the others."

"Right. You two go that way." Kristy pointed ahead of them. "And Biyomon and I can go this way." She jerked her thumb behind them.

"Alright then. You two watch out for any of Bedlamon's warriors. I'll see you two later." Kristy nodded and Kennan and his partner ran off.

Kristy watched them leave for a while before turning to her partner. "Well, let's get going Biyomon." she said to him.

"Right." He nodded and they began walking in the opposite direction.

"Hey Biyomon, what d'you think these crystals are anyway?" Kristy asked curiously.

He thought about it. "I'm sure if we do find it, we'll recognize it."

"I sure hope we find them before the others do." Kristy said excitedly.

Biyomon was a bit worried about his partner's joy. "Kristy, this is serious. Two gods are fighting, and we're the only ones who could stop it."

"What're you talking about? This's all just some big game isn't it?"

At the sound of the voice, Biyomon and Kristy froze. They looked around for the source of the voice. "Who's there!" Kristy shouted. "If you're with Bedlamon, then show yourself!"

"OK then!" Yuu, DarkKnightmon and Damemon appeared in their midst.

Kristy and Biyomon knew them to be enemies. "You guys here for a fight?" Kristy pulled out her Data-Link Digivice.

"Not really. I'm here just to play a little game with you guys." Yuu told them.

"Game?" Biyomon asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Yuu took out his Darkness Loader. "Let's play a really fun game. We fight and whoever doesn't die in the end wins! What do you guys say?"

"Do we have any other choice?" Kristy and her partner nodded at each other. "Get him Biyomon."

"Right." he said before charging.

Yuu turned to his two Digimon. "Take them out guys." he told them.

"Will do master Yuu." DarkKnightmon charged.

"You no good kids are going down!" Damemon cried out. Her hand brimming with an orange D.N.A. Charge, Kristy grasped her Digivice.

D.N.A. Full Charge!

Biyomon Warp Digivolve to...

Garudamon!

Damemon Super Digivolve to...

Tuwarmon!

"Prepare for defeat foolish warrior of Harmoniamon." DarkKnightmon said.

"Sorry, but I don't plan on loosing." Garudamon replied.

"Mantis Dance!"

Tuwarmon came at him spinning like a tornado. Garudamon flew over him to dodge the attack, but DarkKnightmon was there to attack. He thrust with his spear, but Garudamon was able to dodge it and land on his feet.

"Wing Blade!"

Tuwarmon and DarkKnightmon evaded the attack. Tuwarmon fired shells from his armor. While Garudamon was busy dodging them, DarkKnightmon charged in with Twin Spear. Garudamon ducked the initial stab and punched the knight away. Tuwarmon lunged at him and swung his Mantis Arm. Garudamon dodged several swings before successfully landing a punch on his target.

He smirked but then became shocked as Tuwarmon turned into a wooden dummy. He reappeared over the confused Garudamon and delivered a powerful blow to the top of his head sending him face-first into the ground.

"Look out!" Kristy cried out.

Garudamon recovered just in time to see DarkKnightmon try to impale him. He quickly moved out of the way causing DarkKnightmon to stick his spear into the ground.

"Hey, this isn't fair! There are two of you!" Kristy yelled at the two enemy Digimon.

Yuu knew how to remedy that. "OK then. I can fix that." He took out his Darkness Loader again.

DarkKnightmon!

Tuwarmon!

Digi Xros!

MusoKnightmon!

"Chouriki Meidouha!"

Garudamon was able to fly out of the way, but MusoKnightmon kept the attack up. Blast after blast kept heading towards Garudamon, but he was able to dodge them.

He flew around the armed knight and launched a Wing Blade. His opponent couldn't dodge in time and took a direct hit. The dust created was cleared away when MusoKnightmon fired another blast which was promptly dodged.

"Majūryoku Jubakujin!**"**

Garudamon gasped as paralysis struck him, holding him in place. "Nowhere to run now." MusoKnightmon said as he fired his cannons.

"Do something Garudamon!" Kristy shouted. Fortunately, her partner was a fast thinker.

"Fire Hurricane!"

He created a tornado of flames in order to counter the blast from MusoKnightmon. At first, he was able to stop the attack in its track, but after a few seconds. He was overpowered; the blast knocked him several feet away. MusoKnightmon laughed before firing another blast.

"Crimson Claw!"

Garudamon's right fist burst into flames. He flew in at the oncoming burst of energy and punched it. He struggled and flapped his wings harder, and slowly, he began to push against the attack. Kristy cheered him on as he approached MusoKnightmon, but Yuu wouldn't let that happen.

"Xros Open!" he yelled. MusoKnightmon glowed and separated into Tuwarmon, SkullKnightmon and DeadlyAxemon. Garudamon's burning fist went right past them, and they reassembled in front of their general.

"Wow, you guys are tougher than I thought." Yuu complimented.

Garudamon landed in front of Kristy. "My brother and dad are heroes; you bet we're just as tough as they are." Kristy said proudly.

"You base your strength on those who are not with you? Not very wise if you ask me." SkullKnightmon said.

"Yeah well, I didn't ask for your opinion. Now are you guys gonna leave now or come at us again?" Kristy asked.

Yuu smiled innocently. "I like your spirit. OK then, let's start round 2!

Tuwarmon!

DeadlyAxemon!

Digi Xros!

DeadlyTuwarmon!

DeadlyTuwarmon's wrist opened up revealing a barrel that fired hundreds of purple bullets. Garudamon shielded himself with his wings and braced the attack. The barrage ended, but DeadlyTuwarmon fired an arrow from his bow. Garudamon spread his wings which knocked the arrow away. He then flew towards DeadlyTuwarmon, but SkullKnightmon got between them.

"Xros Open!" DeadlyTuwarmon broke apart.

SkullKnightmon!

DeadlyAxemon!

Digi Xros!

SkullKnightmon Cavalier Mode!

"Kiba Braver!"

"Crimson Claw!"

Both attacks collided causing a massive explosion. The force of it knocked the two Digimon backwards. Tuwarmon saw his comrade's and opponent's recovery time and launched an attack of his own.

"Smokin' Boogie!"

Several shells were launched from his armor. Garudamon took a few hits before flying off. Yuu Xrossed his three Digimon into MusoKnightmon; they took aim at Garudamon and fired a powerful blast.

"Fire Hurricane!"

The two attacks collided once again and were in deadlock, but Garudamon was intending to end Yuu's little games. Bending the flames with his will, the made the eye of the tornado widen pushing MusoKnightmon's blast apart in the process. MusoKnightmon couldn't stop his attack or else he'd be hit. Garudamon saw his chance and flew through his tornado.

"Crimson Claw!"

Garudamon flew through the flaming tornado with his fist on fire. With a loud cry, he smashed his fist into his opponent. The explosion that followed knocked Yuu off his feet; Kristy was able to stand her ground. Yuu fell face-first on the ground and looked up to see SkullKnightmon, DeadlyAxemon and Damemon make a crash landing next to him.

With a flap of his wings, a panting Garudamon blew the dust cloud away. "We've won your little game." he told Yuu.

Yuu cringed a bit before standing up. "OK...This didn't go the way I planned it."

"Master Yuu, perhaps we should flee." SkullKnightmon told his general.

"I...guess so..." Yuu said reluctantly before turning to Kristy and Garudamon. "Yeah, I think I'll retreat for now. Maybe I can find sis and fight her. Anyway...we'll want a rematch later!"

Yuu and his team vanished into thin air, and Garudamon reverted back into a very tired Biyomon. "You did great Biyomon." Kristy said running up to him.

"They were tough...I'm really tired right now Kristy. Can we take another break?" he asked.

Kristy smiled at him. "Sure, you deserve one." Biyomon thanked her and laid down. Kristy sat down next to him.

"That'll teach those warriors of Bedlamon to mess with us huh?" she asked. "Keenan shouldn't worry about us at all. We can take anything."

Biyomon sat up. "Kristy, you're really thrilled about this whole war of the gods thing aren't you?"

Kristy turned to him. "Are you kidding? It's not the war that I'm excited about, it's the quest to end it."

Kristy looked upwards; Biyomon saw a glint of longing in her eyes. "Everyone here has already saved the Digital World except us. If we do this, if we beat Bedlamon, then we'd be heroes Biyomon. Just like everyone one else...just like my dad and brother..."

She looked down again with a sad smile on her face. "Is that all you wanted? To be just like them?" Biyomon asked.

Kristy turned to him and nodded. Keenan, her brother, her dad, she admired them so much. For some time, she dreamed about being as strong as they are. They were heroes not only to the Digital World but to her.

Maybe if she became a hero, Keenan would finally relax when it comes to her. Sure, she appreciated the boy's will to protect her while her brother wasn't around, but she wished that he would relax a bit. She was strong, almost as strong as her brother; she didn't want to bog him down as he searched for his own crystal.

Kristy was determined to find her crystal and prove that she was strong. Unbeknownst to her, her journey had just started...


	9. Her Own Strength Part 2

C'mon guys, don't be shy. I'd really like some reviews.

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><p>HER OWN STRENGTH PART 2<p>

Back at Drasil's Chamber, Kurata was plotting his next move when Kouki showed up looking rather smug. "Have you had your fill of battle yet?" Kurata asked.

"Yeah pretty much." Kouki said. Though he'd just com back from a fight, he was rearing to fight again. "So, can I make a move now?"

"Yes; the time has come for your attack on your rival's sister. I hope you don't mind me joining you."

"Yeah sure whatever." Kouki shrugged. "Hey, what about that other brat? Y'know, the one that came with her."

Kurata smiled evilly. "He's been taken out of the equation by someone else. He won't be interfering anytime soon. We'll deal with him later. As for now, we have to deal with the girl."

Kouki gave an equally evil smile and cracked his knuckles. "Alright then, let's go make a little girl cry."

* * *

><p>Kristy and Biyomon had finished taking their break and resumed their search. The two of them were now making their way through Sovereign Plane. There wasn't a single soul in sight except the two of them. However, their run-in with Yuu made them more cautious; who knew where the enemy may be lurking.<p>

"Any sight of anyone Biyomon?" Kristy called to her partner who had flown upwards to get a better view of their surroundings. Biyomon came down and shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling that we're being watched." Biyomon said.

"Well, whatever show up, I'm sure we can handle it. Right Biyomon?" Kristy asked.

"Uh...yeah sure we can." Biyomon said a little uneasily.

The two of them resumed their trek across the plain. Several minutes later, there was still no sign of the crystals nor of anyone else. At least, until Biyomon suddenly stopped walking and tensed up.

"What is it Biyomon?" Kristy asked.

"I can sense someone approaching. I can't tell who it is though." he replied. Just to be safe, Kristy pulled out her Data-Link Digivice. The waited for several moments before someone showed up.

"Kristy!" To their surprise Zoe ran up behind them. Kristy sighed and put her Digivice away.

"What're you two doing here all alone?" she asked them.

"We could ask you the same thing." Biyomon answered. "Are the others with you?"

"No. Koichi left us, so I tried to follow him. Have either of you seen him?" Zoe asked.

Kristy shook her head. "We haven't seen anyone since we split up from Keenan. Can't you call him or something?"

Zoe suddenly remembered. "I forgot! I could try calling him through my D-Terminal." She pulled it out and started pressing a few buttons. "Koichi? Can you hear me? Where are you? Koichi?"

"Well?"

Zoe put her D-Terminal away disappointed. "I can't contact him. Maybe it's because we're too far apart." she suggested.

"Well then let's go find him. If we find a crystal alone the way, then that's even better." Kristy said. Zoe agreed and accompanied the two on their search. Kristy and Biyomon told them how they had gotten separated from Taiki and Nene, her parting with Keenan and her fight with Yuu and his team.

Zoe told her own story about how she had separated from Kari and Davis to search for Koichi. She ran into some trouble along the way, but she was able to handle it. If only she could find Koichi then she could feel a little more relaxed.

"Why'd you two separate from Keenan anyway?" Zoe asked them.

"Why? What's wrong with that?" Kristy asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well nothing. It's just...I mean, you and Keenan are the youngest ones here." Zoe explained. "I think it's safer for both of you if you two just stuck together."

Kristy smiled confidently. "Keenan will be fine on his own. As for us, I've got Biyomon here." She slapped his back causing him to yelp in pain. "As long as we're together, we can take anything Bedlamon can throw at us."

Biyomon suddenly tensed up and shuddered. "Uh, Kristy! I think Bedlamon's going to throw something at us right now!" he cried out. The two girls immediately pulled out their Digivices and waited for the enemy to strike.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly exploded, and hundreds of chains shot out. They went for Kristy and coiled around her body causing her arms and legs to snap shut. Biyomon and Zoe could only scream her name before they themselves suffered a similar fate.

Kristy struggled as hard as she could, but the chains were just too strong. Nearby, Zoe was doing the same thing while Biyomon was trying to burn the chains away with his Spiral Twister. None of their attempts worked.

"Well well well, look what we caught today." Kouki said arrogantly walking in their midst. As he laughed evilly at their situation, Kurata burst out of the ground grinning. Kouki then walked up to Kristy who continued to struggle.

"Y'know, your brother gave me hell." he told her. For the first time since she was summoned to the Digital World, Kristy felt scared. Yuu just fought for fun, thinking it was all just a big game, but Kouki...he fought to kill. "I can't get back at him right now. Buuuuuut, you'll do!"

He balled up his fist and delivered a painful punch to Kristy's face. Kristy tasted blood; she couldn't believe how her brother could've ever withstood a punch like that. This pain was real; she felt even more terrified now.

"Kristy!" she heard Biyomon cry out.

"You'd hit a little girl? What kind of monster are you?" Zoe yelled angrily at Kouki.

Kouki faced her. He had a grumpy expression on his face. "OK then Ms. Smart-mouth, may you should go with us."

Kurata stuck out his hand and Zoe vanished into thin air. "Zoe!" Biyomon cried out. "Where did you take her?"

"If you wanna find out, come follow us. We'll be waiting at the frozen palace." Kurata said before vanishing with Kouki. The chains also vanished causing Kristy and Biyomon to fall down. Biyomon hastily ran to his partner's aid.

"Kristy, are you alright?" he asked worriedly, She was lying face down and didn't make any attempt to stand up. He tried shaking her slightly. "Kristy, answer me!"

He suddenly stopped when he realized what she was doing. She was crying; she clenched her fists tightly as tears fell. Biyomon had never seen her cry before. She was so strong and ready to take on anything when their quest started but now...

She was crying because of how powerless she was earlier. What was she thinking leaving Keenan saying that she'd be fine without him? She couldn't even help Zoe when she was in trouble.

"I'm so weak!" Kristy screamed in her mind; she could still taste her own blood. "I'm nothing like Keenan or my dad or my brother! I'm nothing like them and I never will be! I'm no hero!"

"Kristy, don't say that." Biyomon said trying to comfort her. It didn't work unfortunately; Kristy still felt as worthless as ever.

Just as she realized that she was so pathetic that she should just give up on her quest, a sphere of light appeared before them startling Biyomon a bit. "Please rise child." a voice from the sphere said.

Kristy looked up and saw the sphere flash and become Harmoniamon. Kristy slowly got to her feet and tried to wipe her tears away. "Are you gonna send us home?" she asked.

"Why would I do that?" the goddess asked.

Kristy sniffed a little. "I can't help anyone; I'm just too weak." Biyomon out a comforting wing on her back, but she just slumped her shoulders. "I think you should just send me home before I really let you down."

Harmoniamon looked at her with pity. "Kristy..."

"Why'd you even summon me?" Kristy asked the goddess. "Why not my dad or my brother or anyone else?" She felt like crying again. "Why me...I can't help anyone!"

"Kristy, you're not weak." Biyomon said taking her hands.

"Your partner speaks the truth Kristy. I do not regret choosing you to be one of my champions." Harmoniamon added.

"You...you do? But Harmoniamon, I'm nothing like my dad or brother..." Kristy said sadly.

Harmoniamon closed her eyes for a bit. "You are correct."

Kristy and Biyomon looked at her surprised before she continued. "You are neither your father nor your brother. You are Kristy Damon. Zoe is in danger, and it is up to you to save her. Your family is not here; their strength cannot help you. You must find your own."

Kristy tried to take in her words. "My...my own strength?" she asked.

Harmoniamon nodded and began to fade slowly. "A warrior is not the only one who can wield strength. You must be something else other than a warrior."

"Something else? What is it Harmoniamon?" Kristy asked. Unfortunately, Harmoniamon had lost her strength and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Forgive me, but I must rest. As for your question, you must answer that on your own." her voice said. "Good luck to you Kristy Damon..."

Silence ensued; Harmoniamon seemed to have left. Kristy wiped her face of any residual tears. Biyomon noticed the determination on it.

"Let's go Biyomon; Zoe need us." she said with new-found courage. She walked away to find Zoe leaving Biyomon to smile happily before following her.

* * *

><p>After a long time, they finally found Kouki's lair-the frozen throne room of Infinity Ice Ridge. The cold nor the slippery floor didn't bother Kristy or Biyomon at all. They were just too determined to fight Kouki to care.<p>

"Kouki! Kurata! I know you're here!" she screamed.

After a few seconds, Kouki stepped out from behind the ice throne. "The old man's not here; it's just me. Then again," He grinned evilly. "I don't need him around to rip you apart."

Kristy wasn't intimidated. "Where's Zoe?" she asked.

Kouki put on a sour face. "She got away, but Kurata's on her tail. That just leaves you and me little girl."

Kristy glared at him angrily as he continued to taunt her. "What's wrong?" He made a sobbing action. "Are you gonna cry? Are you gonna run home to big bro or daddy?"

He laughed, but she stood her ground. "No I'm not. If anyone's gonna take you down," Biyomon stood before her ready to fight.

"It's gonna be us." he finished.

Kouki stared at them for a while before laughing. "Alright then, let's get this thing over with!"

Both humans pulled out their Digivices, and their hands became surrounded with D.N.A. charges.

D.N.A. Full Charge!

Biyomon Warp Digivolve to...

Garudamon!

Bio-Hybrid D.N.A. Charge!

Bio-Hybrid Digivolve to...

BioDarkdramon!

BioDarkdramon flew in at high-speed towards Garudamon who side-stepped and used his opponent's momentum to throw him at the wall. Bio-Darkdramon used his thrusters to slow down his impact with the wall before launching another attack with his lance raised.

He struck Garudamon painfully and landed. The latter recovered and charged in with his fists on fire. BioDarkdramon crossed his arms and too a barrage of flaming punches. He managed to hold up for a while, but Garudamon managed to knock him into the air and fire a Wing Blade which sent Kouki crashing into the ceiling.

"Take this!" he yelled before firing a blast from his lance at Kristy. She screamed and covered herself, but strong arms covered her. She heard the sound of impact and a grunt of pain and looked up to see her partner shielding her.

"Garudamon..."

He ignored the pain and looked at her. "I'll always protect you Kristy." he said.

"You...you will?"

Unfortunately, BioDarkdramon fired another blast which hit the ground and sent a cloud of dust into the air. He heard Kristy scream.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" he yelled triumphantly. He flew down from the ceiling and looked at the dust cloud. "Is that it little girl? You and bird-brain done yet?"

"Does this answer your question?" A Wing Blade flew out of the dust cloud and pushed BioDarkdramon back a few feet. He looked up and saw Garudamon blow the cloud away with his wings.

BioDarkdramon growled. "You think you two're warriors? You losers won't last against me!"

He started laughing, but Kristy caught him off. "I am strong Kouki. I've got a lot of strength, and it's not from my brother of my dad. It's from right here." She placed a hand on her chest. "And...I'm not a warrior..."

She had found the answer to her question. "I'm...a protector!"

BioDarkdramon laughed and hovered a few feet from the icy floor. "Well then, let's see you two can even protect yourselves.!"

Neither Kristy nor Garudamon flinched. "Gladly!" they yelled at the same time. Together, they rushed into the fight.


	10. Her Own Strength Part 3

HER OWN STRENGTH PART 3

"You can't protect anyone you losers!" BioDarkdramon taunted.

"Why don't you just watch us!" Garudamon said taking a fighting stance.

"Gigantic Lance!"

BioDarkdramon's lance glowed and increased in length before he thrust it at the oncoming Garudamon. Garudamon dodged and caught the lance under his right arm and kicked BioDarkdramon's stomach a few times. He smashed his head on his a few times as well.

"Why you!" BioDarkdramon yelled before flying up for a bit and slamming Garudamon into the wall. The whole room shuddered, and a few chunks of ice fell due to the impact. Garudamon put his foot on BioDarkdramon's stomach and kicked him away.

"Dark Roar!"

More Dark Matter shots were fired from the lance, but Garudamon flew out-of-the-way causing the blasts to harmlessly hit the wall.

"Fire Hurricane!"

BioDarkdramon fired a few more blasts, but the hurricane consumed them. He noticed that the eye of the hurricane was calm and flew into it. He found Garudamon at the end of it beckoning him to attack. BioDarkdramon growled and charged.

"Gigantic Lance!"

"Crimson Claw!"

The explosion caused the two attacks colliding dispersed the hurricane and nearly knocked Kristy off her feet. She was able to stand her ground and watch as Garudamon and BioDarkdramon flew at each other again. Garudamon attempted a punch, but BioDarkdramon caught his fist. The latter tried a punch but was blocked as well. They grappled in mid-air for a while before flying apart.

"Not too bad for an overgrown chicken." BioDarkdramon taunted.

"At least he's not some human-Digimon freak." Kristy said causing Garudamon to give a smug look. BioDarkdramon bared his teeth angrily.

"Gigantic Lance!"

"Wing Blade!"

The Bio-Hybrid lunged and flew around Garudamon's attack before making a direct hit on his chest. Garudamnon stumbled a bit and tried to counter, but BioDarkdramon kicked his stomach. He hit the floor causing the ice below him to crack. He grunted in pain and looked up to seem BioDarkdramon ready to impale him with his lance.

Garudamon rolled sideways causing BioDarkdramon's to get stuck in the ice. He tried to pull it out, but a kick from his opponent did the job for him as well as sending him flying. BioDarkdramon tumbled a bit before landing on his feet and flying in at Garudamon.

"Dark Roar!"

Garudamon used his wings to shield himself from the attack. He then used Fire Hurricane, but BioDarkdramon dodged it and began firing more shots. Garudamon had to shield himself again as BioDarkdramon flew around him firing blasts from his lance.

"What's wrong? Chickening out?" he taunted as he continued to fire. Garudamon uncrossed his wings and fired another Wing Blade, but BioDarkdramon dodged it easily. BioDarkdramon flew in again with another Gigantic Lace; Garudamon countered with another Crimson Claw.

The ensuing explosion nearly knocked Kristy off her feet. She recovered and saw her partner and BioDarkdramon exchanging punches with each other. After a few moments, they struck each others cheeks at the same time causing them to fly apart.

Kristy ran over to her partner who was panting on one knee. She put a hand on his leg. "Doing alright?"

"I'm fine." Garudamon replied while standing up. "But he won't be for long!"

He flew in at BioDarkdramon before the latter could recover fully. A solid Crimson Claw to his face sent him reeling, but he recovered and fired more blasts of Dark Matter. Garudamon's Wing Blade met the shots creating another explosion. BioDarkdramon flew into it and successfully struck Garudamon with Gigantic Lance.

He was knocked but landed on his feet. BioDarkdramon fired another Dark Roar forcing Garudamon to counter with Fire Hurricane. He had an idea and flew into the eye of the hurricane and readied a Crimson Claw. BioDarkdramon was surprised when he saw him emerging from the eye of the tornado; he was even more surprised when Garudamon's fist connected with his chest sending him crashing into the wall.

"Did that do it?" Kristy asked.

With a loud and angry cry, BioDarkdramon flew in and tackled Garudamon to the ground. As skidding for a while, he raised his lance and attempted to stab Garudamon's neck, but the latter had caught his arm. BioDarkdramon growled and his lance inched closer and closer to the eagle's neck. Garudamon couldn't hold it for long.

"I have to do something." Kristy thought not being able to just stand there while her partner was struggling. She looked around and spotted an icicle that fell when BioDarkdramon crashed into the wall. It was only about a meter long, but it was good enough for her.

The lance was just a few inches away from Garudamon's neck. With a loud cry, Kristy ran towards them and jammed the icicle as deep as she could into BioDarkdramon's right leg. The latter screamed out in pain and turned his attention to her.

"You little brat!" He kicked her, and she flew back several feet until she stopped groaning in pain. BioDarkdramon flew at her, But Garudamon recovered and shoulder-tackled him into the wall.

"Don't you hurt her!" he yelled angrily ending his sentence with a punch. He then dragged BioDarkdramon's face across the wall until the latter blasted him off with his lance. Garudamon staggered giving BioDarkdramon an opportunity to kick him.

"It's over eagle-boy!" BioDarkdramon shouted before charging. Garudamon recovered and flew in as well.

"Dark Roar!"

"Fire Hurricane!"

The Dark Matter blasts stopped the hurricane in its tracks. Garudamon flew into it, but BioDarkdramon got the same idea and did the same.

"Crimson Claw!"

"Gigantic Lance!"

The fist and the lance made contact, their owners locked into a standstill. It had become a battle that would be decided by nothing but pure strength; one let up and you'd lose the fight. Both fighters gritted their teeth and locked eyes with the other.

"It's just you and me now." BioDarkdramon said.

"No it's not." Garudamon answered. "You're fighting someone other than me Kouki."

Realization hit BioDarkdramon, and he looked over his shoulder while being careful to not let up his attack. He saw Kristy standing there with determination on her face and her Data-Link Digivice in her hands. He didn't like the sight one bit.

With a loud cry, Kristy raised her Digivice, and immediately, Kirsty's whole body became surrounded by a D.N.A. charge. Garudamon suddenly felt a surge of power which was made evident when his fist became surrounded in the same D.N.A. charge. BioDarkdramon gasped and let his guard down allowing Garudamon to overpower his attack and sink his fist into BioDarkdramon's chest.

The biggest explosion ever ensued. When it was over, BioDarkdramon found himself flying backwards until his back collided with the back rest of the ice throne. He slid downwards and fell down. He gon on all fours and couldn't get up.

"This can't...I can't..." He couldn't believe what was happening. "How could I...lose to a brat...?"

"I'll tell you why." BioDarkdramon looked up and saw Kristy calmly walk towards him with her hands on her hips. "I've just found out what real strength is. It's not about fighting bad guys; it's about protecting those you care for. As long as you're selfish Kouki, you'll never be strong."

BioDarkdramon growled angrily. He tried to stand up, but he was just too weak to do so. "Oh, and this." Kristy brought out her fist which became surrounded with a D.N.A. charge. "This is for earlier!"

She swung her fist and struck his chin. It hurt a lot more than he expected. The impact actually knocked him off his feet and into the air. Mid-air, he reverted back to his human form and began to turn to data.

"Grr. You brat! Just you wait; I'll be back! I'll make you pay!" Kouki shouted before disappearing completely leaving a Digi-Egg which also vanished into nothingness. Kristy smirked and felt really good about herself.

"Kristy!" Garudamon reverted back to Biyomon. "We did it..." He started panting.

"You alright Biyomon?" Kristy asked worriedly.

"I'm fine...If Kouki came back, I think I can go another round." Biyomon said. Kristy just giggled at that remark.

A sudden flash caught their attention. Kristy and Biyomon turned towards the throne and saw a small sphere of light there. They approached it and watched as it flashed and took on a new form. It now looked like an orange heart but made of a pair of wings. At its center, in blue, was the same mark on Garudamon's head.

Kristy stuck out her hands, and it floated towards her. She gazed at its radiance for several moments. "This is it...a crystal..." she whispered.

"We did it Kristy. We found one." Biyomon added. Kristy smiled, and the crystal vanished in a flash of light.

"I guess we gotta go find the other huh?" Kristy asked.

"Yeah. We might have to find Zoe first to make sure she's OK." Biyomon replied.

"OK then. C'mon Biyomon, let's go find our friends." Together, Kristy and Biyomon left to do just that.

_It was a time that Kristy could not rely on the strength of others..._

_A time that the strength she had was tested..._

_And in the end, she prevailed..._

_And now, she goes off to use her new-found strength to protect those close to her heart..._


	11. Guiding Light Part 1

_Deep within the heart of Kari Kamiya, a light sleeps peacefully..._

_The forces of discord have a sinister plan, a plan to disrupt her light..._

_Will her radiance dim in the face of peril?_

_Or will her light shine brighter than it did before?_

GUIDING LIGHT PART 1

At Mephistomon's Vision...

As Kari watched Zoe walk down the stairs of the building they were in, she heard Davis walk up behind him. "What do we say to him?" Gatomon asked.

"The truth; what else can we say?" Kari replied. At that moment, Davis and Veemon showed up.

"Alright girls, let's get a move on...where's Zoe?" Davis asked.

Kari's eyes darted sideways nervously. "Well you see Davis, she...got worried about Koichi and left to find him." Kari answered.

"All by herself? We should've gone with her."

Kari shook her head. "She wanted to do this alone. She said she'll meet back with us when she find him."

Davis sighed and scratched his head. "Can't do anything about that now. Did you two search this building?"

Gatomon hunched over completely exhausted. "Yeah Davis, this is the 20th building we searched and no crystal in sight. How many did you two do?"

"30." Veemon sat down as exhausted as Gatomon was. "Why's this city so damn huge?"

"There has to be a better way to find the crystals." Kari said. "Harmoniamon could've given us a clue."

"Well, she didn't. C'mon, we should get moving." Davis said helping Veemon to his feet.

Kari followed them but stopped to look out a window. Gatomon noticed the look of worry on her face. "Something wrong Kari?"

"I'm just think. Do you think..._he_ is watching us right now." Kari said nervously.

Gatomon instantly knew who she was referring to. "Dragomon's not here Kari. You don't have to worry about him."

"I know Gatomon, but still..." She shuddered at her memories of being at_ that place_. She hoped that she would never have to do anything about that place again, but seeing Dragomon again...

"Hey! What's the hold-up!" Davis called from the other end of the room. "Those crystal's won't find themselves y'know!"

"See Kari?" Gatomon pointed at them. "Even if Dragomon does show, those two will protect you." She then pointed at herself. "And you've got me right? Dragomon won't take you; not on my watch."

Kari smiled feeling better about everything. She felt more assured that even if Dragomon showed up and tried to abduct her or anything like that, she knew that she could count on her friends to protect her. She then proceeded to follow Davis and Veemon, but she saw something else outside.

"What is it now?" Gatomon asked.

Kari pointed at something outside. Gatomon looked through the window and saw something black flying through the air. Whatever it was, it was far away, but when it flew closer to them, they realized who it was.

"It's Velgemon!" Gatomon exclaimed. As he closed in, the two girls ran for the stairs to warn Davis and Veemon but-

"Dark Vortex!"

The attack struck the lower portion of the building. The whole building shuddered violently causing Kari and Gatomon to fall. They then felt the floor start to till as the building began to crumble.

"Kari!" Davis and Veemon suddenly appeared at the doorway and tried making their way to them. Kari scrambled to her feet and tried running towards them, but she was knocked over once more. The floor finally gave in, and they fell into darkness.

When Kari finally woke up, she found herself buried in the remains of the building. She felt several cuts and bruises, but otherwise, she was OK. She pushed herself out of the rubble and looked around. Nearby, Gatomon burst out of the rubble and clutched her aching head.

Kari looked around but didn't see any sign of the guys. "We have to find them." she told her partner. They got up but were interrupted when another blast struck the ground nearby. The force of it knocked them out of the ruble and onto the street.

Kari and Gatomon slowly got up and saw Velgemon land on the building directly across them and Slide Digivolve to Duskmon. He pointed his blades at Kari and said: "You're mine child of light."

Gatomon walked towards him. "I'll hold him off. You try to find Davis and Veemon."

"Right." Kari nodded and took out her D-3

Gatomon Digivolve to...

Angewomon!

"I will vanquish your light." Duskmon said ready to fight.

"No one can dim me!" Angewomon replied. She flew upwards towards the Warrior of Darkness.

"Deadly Gaze!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

The cross-shaped shield was able to block Duskmon attack. The latter summoned his blades and jumped off the building. Without showing any signs of fear, he fell towards Angewomon and slashed. His swords were blocked by her shield; she fired her shield pushing him upwards at great speed.

Duskmon jumped off and landed back on the roof of the building. Angewomon flew above him and launched a Celestial Arrow. Duskmon dodged it and charged at her with Lunar Plasma. She flew sideways causing Duskmon to land on another building.

The two them them began exchange Celestial Arrows and Deadly Gazes with each other. Meanwhile, Kari was sifting through the rubble of the building looking for Davis and Veemon. She looked up to check on her partner and saw that she was doing alright. She began to pull apart the remains of the building once more.

Back with the two Digimon, Angewomon was able to hit Duskmon and knock him off the building. Duskmon summoned his blades and drove them into the side of the building, slowing his fall to a stop. Angewmon reappeared and fired another arrow at him.

Duskmon, Slide Evolution!

Velgemon!

"Dark Vortex!"

After cancelling out the arrow, Velgemon flew off and continued to fire. Angewomon had difficulty in dodging the blasts. Velgemon swooped down on her and grabbed her with his talons. She managed to free her arms and shoot a Celestial Arrow at the side of his head, but this only angered him. Velgemon flew towards a building and smashed Angewomon face-first into it. The building collapsed, and she was knocked out of Velgemon's grasp.

"Angewomon!" Kari saw what just happened. After waiting for a while, Angewomon flew out of the building's remains to continue the fight. Kari turned her attention back to the rubble and continued to search.

Finally, she found a hand sticking out. Thinking fast, she dug through the rubble and uncovered Davis and Veemon. Unfortunately, they were unconscious; Kari slung carried them one-by-one to the back of a nearby building safe from harm.

"Just stay here you two." she said even though they couldn't hear her. She turned away and ran after her partner. She couldn't find them for a while, at least until Velgemon suddenly appeared and drew a circle around her with his wing.

"Dark Obliteration!"

Kari gasped as the dome began to close in on top of her. "Kari!" She saw Angewomon fly towards her and grab her; she flew her out of the dome before it could close.

"Thanks." she said. Angewomon just nodded and deposited her somewhere safe. She then flew off and fired a Celestial Arrow at Velgemon. He dodged it and flew towards her with his talons raised.

"Heaven's Charm!"

Her shield blocked him, and when she launched it, she pushed him into the side of a building. He recovered and flew at her again firing Dark Vortex in the process. Angewomon shot an arrow into it causing an explosion. Velgemon used the smoke produced to hide his Slide Evolution into Duskmon.

"Lunar Plasma!"

Angewomon was surprised to see Duskmon burst out of the smoke. She got over it in time to dodge the attack and fired an arrow into his back. Duskmon was knocked onto the roof of a nearby building, but he rolled upon impact and fired Deadly Gaze which was dodged.

Duskmon then jumped off the building and tried kicking her. She simply put up her shield and blocked his foot, but Duskmon smirked and used this opportunity to fire Deadly Gaze from close up. The attack pushed Angewomon into the side of a building; Duskmon landed on the roof again and saw an opportunity to strike.

"Lunar Plasma!"

Angewomon opened her eyes and saw his rushing towards her. She flew upwards causing his blades to get embedded in the side of the building and hit him with a Heaven's Charm which pushed him all the way to the ground.

Duskmon rose and looked around seeing Angewomon fly away from him. Following her on the ground, he shot Deadly Gaze several times, but not one of them hit. Eventually, she flew into a building, and he just jumped into the nearest window of the building.

He summoned his blades and slowly walked around the floor. "Where are you, you persistent insect?" he said out loud.

"Here!" Duskmon turned around and saw her fly towards him quickly

"Deadly Gaze!"

"Heaven's Charge!"

Angewomon flew over Duskmon to avoid the attack and created a ring of energy around him. He suddenly found himself unable to move and just watched Angewomon fly out of the building. She flew to the bottom part of the building. "Let's see how you like it." she muttered.

"Celestial Arrow!"

Imitating him, she aimed for the support beams of the building. One after the other, they crumbled which caused the building to become unstable. Duskmon could just watch as the floor and ceiling collapsed right on top of him. Angewomon saw the whole building go down burying Duskmon in a similar pile of rubble. Feeling satisfied, she flew back to Kari.

"He's been taken care of." she said landing in front of Kari and reverting back to Gatomon. "How are Davis and Veemon?"

"They're still out cold." Kari replied. "C'mon, we have to-"

An explosion coming from the ruined building stopped Kari mid-sentence. Duskmon burst from the rubble and landed a few feet before them. "Impressive. Your light almost matches my darkness."

He walked towards them, and Gatomon immediately ran in front of Kari. "Don't think you can beat us." she threatened.

"Defeat you? That was not my purpose. I need you two for a little plan I have." Duskmon said.

"We're not working with you." Kari said taking her D-3 out again. The two girls were then surprised to hear Duskmon laugh.

"After we're done, you two won't have a choice." he said evilly.

"Wait, 'we'?" Kari asked.

Duskmon looked upwards and shouted: "Parasimon, now!"

"Here I come!" Kari and Gatomon turned around and saw the spider Digimon land before Them. Before they could do anything, he launched multiple tentacles at them plunging them into darkness.

The next thing Kari knew, she was lying on the ground. She wasn't at Mephistomon's Vision anymore; she could tell because instead of a road beneath her, there was sand, dark grey sand.

Sand?

She could also hear waves crashing as if she was on a beach.

No. Not a just a beach. Dread began to fill Kari; she had an idea where she was but was too afraid to see. But she couldn't take it anymore and stood up.

Grey water and sand, grey sky, a dark city behind her, Kari worst fears were confirmed. She thought she would never have to see this place again, but here it is ready to haunt her.

"The Dark Ocean..."


	12. Guiding Light Part 2

GUIDING LIGHT PART 2

Kari covered her mouth in horror and dropped to her knees. Yes, she was back at that dreadful place which haunted her nightmares. It was just as she remembered-the dark beach, the gray water, the city nearby, even the lighthouse that shone darkness was still there.

"Kari!" she looked up and saw Gatomon rush to her side. "Calm down Kari; it's OK. Everything's gonna be fine." she said seeing her panicked face.

But she was so scared and had a hard time calming down. The fog that began to envelop the are didn't help either. Kari could almost feel it press on her making it hard to breath.

"Snap out of it Kari; we need to find some way out of here." Gatomon said again.

Kari shook her head and set her mind straight. Now wasn't the time to be freaking out; the sooner she got out of there, the better. Besides, Davis and Veemon were still unconscious; who knew what was happening to them with Duskmon and Parasimon on the loose.

Kari stood up determined and looked around. "Parasimon must've knocked us out and brought us here. There has to be some way out." she said.

"The city. We could start there." Gatomon suggested looking at it. Kari agreed, and they began searching it.

Kari couldn't stop looking around as they traveled, something Gatomon noticed. She knew the reason; this was Dragomon's realm. He could be anywhere watching them struggle as they find an exit waiting for a chance to strike. That wasn't going to happen on Gatomon's watch though.

The city was just as she remembered it- empty, gloomy, dark and overall a not so great place to be when you're alone. But Kari knew that the two of them weren't alone; she just knew that Dragomon was somewhere plotting his next move.

After a few minutes of searching, Gatomon's ears picked something up causing her to stop. "What is it-" Kari began, but her partner held up her paw to silence her. She closed her eyes and tried finding the source of the sound.

"Something's coming up from behind us." The two girls instantly turned around only to find nothing. Then they could hear something walking slowly towards them. A few seconds later, it sounded more like something was dragging its feet towards them. Kari looked worried as Gatomon stepped in front of her ready to attack.

The thing making the sound appeared, and Kari almost screamed. The creature had a body that seemed to made of darkness but had two eyes floating in its head. It was tall and had long arms that ended with clawed hands which reached out for her.

"Lightning Paw!"

Gatomon wasted no time in knocking that thing down. Unfortunately, it got to its feet with no sign that it was hurt in the first place. Gatomon tried hypnotizing it, but all she got was a swipe that knocked her back.

"Gatomon!" Kari helped her to her feet and then gasped as more of the creatures appeared. "No...stay away!" she yelled at them.

They didn't listen and continued their advance. Gatomon was able to recover and charged in at the dark creatures. There were now about 20 of them; she was able to knocked a few of them down, but they got and continued on towards them. She was going to be outnumbered at this rate.

She switched tactics and ran to Kari's side. "Kari, we need to go now!" she said tugging her arm. Kari obeyed, and the two girls began running.

Unfortunately, the creatures were just as fast. Kari looked over her shoulder and saw them rushing towards her clawing at her with their arms; it was like something out of a horror movie. She doubled her speed, but that began to tire her. They ran through several roads getting more tired by the minute; she wouldn't last for long.

The only direction they wanted to run was away from those things. After making several random turns, the two of them found themselves back on the beach. "Where now?" Kari said looking around for a place to run. The creatures caught up with them and forced them to back up. They ended up getting surrounded with the water at their backs; Kari didn't think something good would happen if she touched the water.

The fog started to thicken and press in on them. "No...stay back..." She sunk to her knees and clutched her head. "So dark...make it go away..."

"Kari..." Gatomon said before shouting at the creatures. "Back off you creeps! I'm not scared of you; I won't let the darkness hurt Kari!" Kari's Digivice began to glow.

Gatomon Digivolve to...

Angewomon!

She began showering the creatures with herb Celestial Arrows. She seemed to be able to do more damage, but the creatures weren't destroyed. She was determined to keep those things away from Kari. Several minutes passed, and Angewomon began to tire, but the creatures didn't show any signs of damage either.

"Why won't these things just die!" Angewomon shouted as she fired more arrows at the horde.

"Angewomon...there's nothing you can do..." Kari said.

She flew down next to her. "Kari, what're you saying?"

"It's pointless Angewomon. We can't win this." The creatures continued their advance on them.

Angewomon didn't want to believe that Kari was giving up. "We can't just give up Kari. We have to keep fighting."

"Perhaps you should listen to your partner angel."

Kari and Angewomon turned around at the sound of the voice only to see a trident flying in their direction. It struck the ground between them launching them into the air and apart from each other. Kari felt a shadow loom over her and looked up. Her eyes widened in fear.

"Hello Child of Light." Dragomon said with an evil smile. Kari backed away from him.

"Stay away from her! Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon yelled firing her attack. Dragomon blocked it with his trident and smacked her into the ground when she flew too close.

"Angewomon!" Kari screamed. She tried running to her, but Dragomon picked her up with his tentacles and lifted her near his face.

Dragomon chuckled as he saw her struggle to break free. "Enough with this pointless struggle child. You are in my domain now."

Kari stopped struggling and started trembling at his gaze. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

The Digimon smiled. "My realm is vast; I cannot rule it alone. I want a queen, someone to rule this place with me...I want you Kari Kamiya."

That creeped Kari out a lot. "There's no way in hell that I'd be your queen!" she shouted at him.

That didn't seem to deter Dragomon. "Why not? Your survival will be assured if you chose to be my queen. When Bedlamon is finally victorious in this conflict of the gods, your friends will be long gone. Be my queen, and you will live. Be my queen, and I can give you anything your heart desires..."

"The only thing I want right now is to get away from you!" Kari shouted defiantly.

This time, Dragomon frowned. "You are lucky that I am very patient. Perhaps more time in my realm will change your mind."

He set his trident down and waved his empty tentacle around. A layer of fog began to form and press in on Kari, causing her to panic. "No...No stop!" she screamed. Dragomon just laughed as she continued to panic. He tightened his grip on her and waited for her to finally submit to him.

"Kari..." Angewomon's weak voice said. "Don't give in to the darkness. Remember the light; don't let go of it..."

"Fool, there is no darkness in my realm." Dragomon said raising his trident to strike her.

He suddenly felt a painful burning sensation. Kari's body suddenly flashed with white light causing him to drop her. Kari got to her feet and saw an image form in the sky. It was Davis, and he was running along with Koichi.

"Davis..." she whispered.

"They're not giving up, and neither should you." Angewomon was able to stand up completely. "Use your light; let it show the way."

Those words gave Kari strength. She got up with new-found determination coursing through her. "Yes. My light will guide them towards us." She closed her eyes and lifted her arms up to the image. Dragomon recovered and noticed the image above, it suddenly turned into a white portal which Kari had a good feeling about.

"Angewomon!" Kari's partner flew towards her. Kari held out her arm allowing Angewomon to grab it and carry her upwards.

"No! I will not let you leave!" Dragomon yelled throwing his trident. Angewomon dodged it and flew into the portal. The two of them then blacked out as they passed through and heard Dragomon's scream on rage.

* * *

><p>"Kari? C'mon, wake up already!" Davis's voice came through the darkness. Kari slow;y opened her eyes and saw him looking down on her. Davis smiled. "Whew, good to see that you're up."<p>

Kari sat up and looked around. She saw Gatomon being woken up by Veemon and noticed that they were in Darkness Sphere.  
>She heard running and saw Koichi run towards them.<p>

"You're alright." he said relieved.

The two girls were still slightly disoriented. "What happened?" Gatomon asked.

"Parasimon's been controlling you two. Veemon and I took care of him." Davis answered. "But more importantly, are you OK? What happened to you two?"

Kari told them about the Dark Ocean and Dragomon's offer, something which freaked Davis out. "I've heard that Parasimon can create illusions All you saw Kari wasn't real." Koichi said.

"Oh I am more real than you can imagine!" Dragomon yelled appearing in their midst. Kari backed up. "You cannot evade me for long! You will be my queen!"

Gatomon ran in front of her. "Kari's not yours! I'll defend her even if it costs me my 9 lives!"

"We're in this too! We won't let you take her!" Davis yelled. He, Veemon and Koichi stepped in front of Kari and pulled out their Digivices.

Kari was touched by how willing they all were to defend her. "You guys..."

"Screaming Darkness!"

Kari turned around and saw to burst struck the group scattering everyone. Kari opened her eyes and saw Gatomon lying a few feet before her. She heard an evil laugh and looked up to see MaloMyotismon.

"I don't recall requiring your help." Dragomon said.

The other Digimon laughed again. "Does it matter? I've a bone to pick with that boy over there. Go on; you're free to take her now."

Dragomon suddenly grabbed Kari with one of his tentacles. Gatomon saw this and jumped towards her grabbing her ankle. Dragomon laughed on last time before vanishing into thin air.

* * *

><p>They reappeared somewhere, and Dragomon threw them down. Kari felt sand beneath her and bolted upright. To her horror, she found herself back in the Dark Ocean.<p>

"This is no illusion; this is the real thing." Dragomon said, his body submerged beneath the water. He was obviously pissed off at what happened earlier. "I will give you one last chance. Chose me," He pointed his trident at them. "Or death."

"I chose neither!" Kari shouted pulling out her D-3. . "I'm tired of this! I'm not going to chicken out this time! I'll fight, and I won't stop until you're gone for good!"

"Right behind you Kari!" Gatomon yelled running towards Dragomon.

Gatomon Digivolve to...

Angewomon!

She flew around the giant Digimon firing Celestial Arrow multiple times, but to Dragomon, she was like an annoying mosquito which he smacked painfully with his tentacles. She recovered and dodged a swipe of his trident and used Heaven's Charm to block the next one. She fired it causing it to explode upon contact with his face.

"Hmm...is that all?" One of Dragomon's tentacles shot out and coiled around her ankle. He slammed her onto the shoreline before plunging her underwater. Kari ran to the water's edge fearing that Angewomon's oxygen would run out.

"Now with her gone..." Dragomon said. One of his tentacles rested on Kari's shoulder. She angrily swatted it away.

"Angewomon!"

An arrow shot out of the water and struck Dragomon's head forcing him to let go of her. Angewomon swam back to the surface and took to the air again. "Had enough!" she taunted.

Dragomon humphed and readied his trident. "I tire of this. I will make you my queen even if I must do so by force!"

"I don't belong to anyone!" Kari shouted back. "Angewomon, go!"

The angel Digimon charged ready to defend her partner's freedom.


	13. Guiding Light Part 3

GUIDING LIGHT PART 3

"You will be my queen for all eternity!" Dragomon shouted gleefully

"Just try and take her!" Angewomon yelled in defiance.

Dragomon growled angrily and threw his trident at her. Angewomon dodged it and shot an arrow at his forehead. He screamed in pain as the attack hit, but his trident returned to his hand. He swung it at his opponent.

"Heaven's Charm!"

The shield was put up just it time, but it shattered under the force of the attack. Dragomon swung his trident again and shattered another Heaven's Charm. He broke a few more until Angewomon flew upwards and fired a Heaven's Charm at him, but it was block by his trident.

"Thousand Tentacles!"

A bunch of Dragomon's tentacles grouped together forming a large whip that he used to smack Angewomon aside. She tumbled around in the air for a while before finally stopping and seeing the trident head for her again. She flew sideways to avoid it."

"Celestial Arrow!"

Dragomon was hit again, but that wasn't enough to defeat him. She fired another one, but it was swatted away by Dragomon's trident. He threw it at her only to miss once again. "How long will you continue to defy me?" he asked.

"As long as you live!" Angewomon shouted back. She fired a Heaven's Charm at him, but he blocked it easily.

"Forbidden Trident!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

An explosion resulted when the attacks collided. Dragomon shot a tentacle into the dust cloud and grabbed Agewomon. She tried to fire a Celestial Arrow, but he pulled her causing it to fly in another direction. He spun her in circles over his head a few times before throwing her at the shore where she crashed.

"Angewomon!" Kari ran to her side and helped her up.

Angewomon gasped. "Kari!" She shoved her away before Dragomon's trident could impale her. Angewomon took to the skies again to begin another round with the lord of the Dark Ocean.

"Tentacle Claw!"

A black claw shot out of the cluster of tentacles on his right "arm" and headed for Angewomon. She hastily put up her shield, but it too shattered against the force of the attack. She countered with a Celestial Arrow that did nothing but annoy Dragomon further. She needed a plan to end this; upon seeing Dragomon about to throw his trident, she flew in at the tentacle holding it.

"Heaven's Charge!"

Her attacked worked; Dragomon found himself unable to move his right tentacle. Angewomon started flying around firing Celestial Arrow several times with Dragomon being unable to use his trident to block them. He tried swatting her with his other tentacles, but she kept evading them. She flew in and performed another Heaven's Charge on his other arms and feet rendering him unable to move. She knew that her attack wasn't permanent, so she gave him a barrage of Celestial Arrows.

The arrows were beginning to take their toll of Dragomon. Both Kari and Angewomon saw him get weaker with every arrow that hit him. Just then, his right tentacle began to move showing that the Heaven's Charge was wearing off.

"Forbidden Trident!"

The attack scored a direct hit on Angewomon. While she was sent reeling back, her Heaven's Charge had worn off completely, and Dragomon was able to move properly again. "Fool, I will not be defeated in my own realm! Thousand Tentacles!"

Angewomon hadn't recovered yet when the attack struck her. She was knocked toward the water but pulled out of the fall before she could touch it. Dragomon swung his trident and broke another Heaven's Charm. and followed up with a swipe of his tentacles. Angewomon was able to dodge and counter attack with Celestial Arrow, but it still wasn't enough to bring him down.

Kari looked around for something that would help and spotted the lighthouse that was emitting darkness. She called to her partner and ran towards it. Angewomon ducked another Forbidden Trident and followed her.

"Forbidden Trident!"

Angewomon ducked, countered with Heaven's Charm and continued flying. Dragomon was hit, but that didn't stop him from pursuing her. Angewomon followed Kari and led Dragomon to the base of the cliff where the lighthouse was. Angewomon flew to the top and waited for Dragomon to approach.

"Fool, You will perish before me! Forbidden Trident!"

Angewomon saw the trident and flew sideways. It collided with the cliff causing a loud crack to echo across the area. As the trident returned to him, the whole cliff gave way taking the lighthouse with it. Dragomon watched it spin around as it fell. Eventually it reached him with the pointed end down. It was too late for him.

The lighthouse fell and impaled him right in the chest. He screamed in pain loudly and dropped his trident. Kari and Angewomon watched as he flailed around and began sinking into the ocean. In a matter of minutes, he had vanished underwater completely, and the place grew still.

"Is...is it over?" Kari asked hoping that the answer would be yes.

The water where Dragomon sunk began to bubble violently. The two girls backed off as Dragomon burst out of the waters with a loud cry. The lighthouse was still sticking out of his chest, but he just ripped it out and threw it at the two girls.

"Heaven's Charm!"

The shield was able to protect them from the lighthouse, but it broke when Dragomon threw his trident. He caught up with them, and did he looked pissed off. "You wretch!" he shouted at Angewomon. "I will not let you deny me my queen!"

Kari cringed, and Angewomon flew in front of her. Dragomon slammed his trident on the beach. Kari was knocked back by the shock wave, but Angewomon helped her back up before firing a Celestial Arrow. When he raised his trident to block it, they saw what was in his chest and gasped. It looked like a human heart, but it was pitch black and was covered by a dark aura.

Dragomon realized that they had noticed it. "Do you like it?" he said. "It is my heart blacker than the deepest night. When you become my queen Kari Kamiya, your heart will be just as dark as mine." Kari clutched her chest and stepped back a bit.

"Celestial Arrow!"

The arrow sail unimpeded and struck Dragomon's dark heart. He grunted in pain as a flash of light erupted from his chest, but it soon faded. His heart remained untouched shocking Angewomon.

"Impossible." she said. Dragomon laughed.

"Thousand Tentacles!"

The attack the stop of Angewomon's head and made her crash into the ground a process that also knocked Kari off her feet. Neither girl had the strength to get up. Dragomon laughed evilly as he raised his trident over Angewomon. The latter slowly opened her eyes and formed a Celestial Arrow aimed straight at Dragomon's heart.

He noticed this and chuckled. "Why waste your shot? My heart is stronger than any light you may posses. Your demise is at near." He raised his trident.

"Angewomon...I'm so sorry" Kari said. "I'm just...my light's no match for him. It's just not strong enough."

"N...No it's not." Angewomon replied. "Kari, your light is the strongest and brightest I've ever seen. It's gotten me and all of us through tougher times than this. Don't give up on it..."

Kari still looked troubled. Dragomon was getting ready to strike. "Think of the others Kari." Angewomon continued as she held her arrow steady. "What about Davis? He's not giving up, so why should you? Trust him; trust your light Kari."

Kari began to understand; the Celestial Arrow grew slightly larger. She thought of Davis and felt her light grow stronger. She knew his strength to never give in to defeat and realized that she should do the same. She didn't want to give up either.

With every passing memory of Davis, the Celestial Arrow grew larger and larger. When it was finally twice its normal size, Dragomon got worried. He raised his trident to impale Angewomon.

"Light, be my guide!" she shouted pulling it back. Dragomon brought the trident down.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

The trident was literally an inch away from her heart when the arrow struck Dragomon's. Like the previous arrow, a great white light erupted. Dragomon looked down and saw cracks to form on his heart. "N..No...This isn't...possible...!"

The arrow flashed even brighter and shattered the dark heart leaving a gaping hole right through Dragomon. He screamed out and flailed around and began to turn to data. Kari saw this and got to her feet.

"You...!" Dragomon shouted. "You have just sealed your fate! You and your friends will never win this conflict of the gods! Your only chance of survival has just been destroyed!"

"I'll survive." Kari said confidently. "I have my light and my friends. I won't let Bedlamon win!"

Dragomon managed an amused chuckle. "Foolish girl, you are so ignorant of what is truly happening."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angewomon asked, but Dragomon was almost gone.

He laughed again until he was nothing but a head. "You will understand in time. Until we meet again Child of Light..."

With that final note, Dragomon was gone, his data turning into small spheres of light that rained down on Kari. Angewomon reverted back to her original form and approached her. Kari caught one of the spheres and held it near her chest felling its warmth.

A sudden flash caught their attention. The two girls turned around to see a larger sphere of light floating a few feet off the ground. It began to change form; it took the form of pink waves like what you would see in the ocean. On it in darker pink was the Crest of Light.

She knew what it was, her crystal. It floated towards her chest, and she cupped it in her arms before it vanished completely. Kari smiled.

"So this place doesn't scare you anymore?" Gatomon asked.

Kari shook her head. "Not anymore. No matter how dark this place, "I know that my light, that you and everyone else will be there."

Gatomon smiled upon hearing her partner out. "Well we better get going and find the others. Kari agreed and, with her partner, left the Dark Ocean no longer fearing it or Dragomon.

_The darkness was strong, cruel and unforgivable..._

_Yet, Kari Kamiya's light vanquished it into oblivion..._

_Now, she continues to walk the path of light with no fears or worries..._

_Hoping that it will always shine brighter than the rising sun..._


End file.
